the Bloody Blossom
by Peace Love California
Summary: At 17 years old, Sakura Haruno is the boogeyman of vampires. Sasuke Uchiha is the young, good-looking, arrogant Vampire Prince in the Sharingan Kingdom. When Sakura is hired to kill Sasuke, certain events lead to her being captured *FULL SUMMARY INSIDE*
1. Chapter 1

Hallah back bitches :D So this is my first fanfic that's not one chapter long…wewt.

Here's the full summary:

**Summary: **At 17 years old, Sakura Haruno is the boogeyman of vampires. She's a lethal, scary, dangerous-as-hell vampire slayer with a dark past who hides her identity from all but her master. Sasuke Uchiha is the young, good-looking, arrogant Vampire Prince in the Sharingan Kingdom. When Sakura is hired to kill Sasuke, certain events lead to her being captured and held against her will by said vampire. However, while in captivity, will something spark between the two? Well, no shit Rated M for language and violence

_Obviously, I don't own Naruto_

Chapter 1

_Italics=thoughts_

Sakura groggily woke up and rose from her bed, the sunlight hitting her eyes hard. _I need to stop waking up so damn early._ She walked to her bathroom, already envisioning a long, leisurely shower. She's about to turn on the water when she hears a knock at her door. _Fuck! Whoever that is better have some good news! _Sakura stomps to the door and wrenches it open, only to find her master, Tsunade, had sent her message eagle with a note intended for her. Note=mission. _GODDAMN._ Sakura took the message off the bird's talon and was about to close the door when she heard an angry screeching. She looked down to see the bird glaring at her.

"Geez, so greedy. You're just like your master." Sakura mumbled. She fished a coin out of her pocket and flipped it to the bird, who gave a small nod as approval and took off. Sakura slammed the door and opened the message.

**Sakura,**

**You have a new mission. Report to me as soon as you get this.**

**-Tsunade**

"SHIT! CAN'T I HAVE ONE DAMN MORNING OFF?" screamed Sakura.

Ever since she witnessed her parents' death at the hand of vampires at a young age, nearly meeting her own death as well, Sakura had been ruthlessly training to be a Gold Ranked Vampire Slayer. She was currently Silver Rank, and just one more big mission would allow her to apply for the Promotion Exams (similar to the Chuunin Exams). Her weapons consisted of a bow-and-arrow for distanced fighting, and a dagger drenched in holy water for close combat. Together, they made for deadly weapons that struck fear in the hearts of every vampire. Sakura is known solely by her nickname amongst the vampires as well as humans, the Bloody Blossom. The only person that knows her real name besides herself is Tsunade, and she kept it strictly under wraps.

After putting on her slaying gear, which consisted of black, knee-high combat boots, black shorts, her thigh sheath with her dagger and a canteen of holy water, and a black tank top with the kanji symbol for 'blood' on it, Sakura grabbed her bow and arrows, slung them over her shoulder, and departed for Tsunade's office. She moved quickly and inconspicuously to reach her destination. Once there, she rapped on Tsunade's door. An irritated 'come in' was heard. _She's in a bad mood and it's only seven-thirty am. Wonderful. _Thought Sakura, as she entered.

"Good morning, shishou. What do you have for me?" asked Sakura, trying to sound pleasant as to give Tsunade no excuse to yell at her.

"Come sit down." Tsunade said, gesturing to a chair in front of her. Sakura sat down. "Now, as I'm sure you know, you are one mission away from being eligible for the Promotion Exams in December (it's October right now). One important, successful mission, that is." She said.

"And I'm assuming you're going to give me that mission now?" said Sakura.

"Indeed. Here's the file." Tsunade said. She threw a manila envelope towards Sakura, who skillfully caught it. She opened it and read the mission objective. Her viridian eyes widened.

"Sasuke Uchiha?" she said in amazement. Tsunade nodded. "The VAMPIRE PRINCE? Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND? Do you know how much SECURITY I'll have to get through to even be able to enter the palace grounds? And then there's FINDING him, and I'll probably run into his BROTHER with any luck, and"- Sakura was cut off by the vase flying at her head. She instinctively whipped out her dagger and sliced it in half, breath ragged.

"IF YOU'RE QUITE DONE, YOU'LL SHUT UP AND LET ME EXPLAIN." Yelled Tsunade. Sakura, who had stood up sometime during her rant, sat down, but not before having a glare match with her shishou.

"Let's hear it then." Said Sakura, through clenched teeth.

"Sasuke Uchiha is currently not at his home. He is in a small underground hideout about five miles west of here."

"What? Why?" Sakura asked. Tsunade shrugged.

"No idea. But he's been there for about two weeks. We don't know if he's planning anything, or is just there for kicks. Either way, he is incredibly vulnerable. However, he is not alone." Sakura raised her eyebrow.

"How many are we talking here?" she asked suspiciously.

"He has 4 of his friends with him. From what I've been told, two of them are geniuses, and the other two don't know their head from their balls." She said.

_How the hell does she expect me to be able to do that? She's out of her mind! _

"Before you go calling me crazy, there is a way you'll be able to avoid fighting the 4 companions." Tsunade said. "Sasuke, as you may know, is one of the most arrogant bastards ever to walk the face of the earth. Call him out, insult him, do whatever, and you'll be able to get him to agree to a one-on-one with no interference. The getaway, however, is something that'll be entirely up to you." She said, flashing a huge smile.

_I can't believe I'm saying this, but…_"I accept." Sakura said, somewhat dreadingly. Tsunade's smile widened.

"Good. And once you pass this, you'll be able to apply for the Promotion Exams." She said. "Your mission begins in one hour. You have no more than 4 days." She said. Sakura nodded and turned to leave. "Oh and Sakura, one more thing." She turned around. "I know you have a problem with killing someone who isn't your target, but remember: in this mission, that might get you killed. Good luck, Sakura." She said, smiling again. Sakura bowed and left, giving her shishou a small smile. She closed the door behind her.

_Kick some ass, Bloody Blossom._

There's chapter one! So tell me what you think, any way you think I can improve the story! Much obliged :3


	2. Chapter 2

Whatup, amihos? Here's chapter 2 of my story :D

As usual, I don't own Naruto.

P.S. This chapter will resolve around Sasuke

Sasuke was awakened by the sound of breaking glass and shouts from the kitchen. He rolled his eyes and walked towards the noise. He walked in the kitchen to find Kiba yelling at Shikamaru while Akamaru barked by his side, standing on what looked like a broken plate. Naruto was in a corner crying over a cut so miniscule it was thinner than one strand of hair, and Neji was standing watching them with mild amusement.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" asked Sasuke, irritated at being awoken at such an early hour. It was three in the afternoon, for God's sake! The four (or five, counting Akamaru)

"It's all Shikamaru's fault!" shouted Kiba. Akamaru barked in agreement. Shikamaru yawned. Neji rolled his eyes. Kiba turned on Neji. "You got an opinion, you…you…female-haired ass?" he yelled.

"How could it have been Shikamaru's fault that the plate broke? You dropped it when you thought you heard a knock at the door." Said Neji calmly.

"I…you…fuck you!" said Kiba.

"CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME BEFORE I BLEED TO DEATH?" screamed Naruto from the corner. There was a single drop of blood running down his hand. Shikamaru yawned again.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" asked Sasuke.

"What's WRONG is that we are on withdrawal!" shouted Kiba. The rest of them nodded in agreement.

"Withdrawal from what?" asked Sasuke. "There's plenty of blood in the fridge."

"Not blood, you idiot." Said Shikamaru. "Women."

"We miss our girlfriends!" cried Naruto. "I miss my Hinata! Her long, beautiful hair, her laugh, her big, luscious, um smile." He said nervously, cowering under Neji's glare. Shikamaru shook his head.

"I even miss that crazy woman's yelling at me. I almost hope she shows up here just to hit me with her fan." He said. He feared Temari just as much as he feared his mother. A whole lot.

"You guys need to take a cold shower or something. That's the third plate you've broken this week." Said Sasuke.

"Easy for you to say! You have nobody to miss!" whined Naruto. "I don't know what to do with myself without Hinata! I want to see her, kiss her, and, just for Neji's sake, do her. YEAH NEJI, I SAID IT! WHATCHA GONNA DO ABOUT IT, HUH?" he shouted, doing a stupid dance. Neji picked up a shard of broken glass and chucked it at Naruto's head, who only ducked just in time.

"Don't act like such a boy scout, Neji. I heard you _moaning_ and _panting _in your room last night. What were you doing, huh? Pretending it was Tenten's hand, instead of yours?" said Kiba grumpily. That set it off. They all started fighting and jumping on each other. _Why did I choose them to come with me again?_

About two weeks ago, Sasuke's mother had decided to send him into hiding for about a month and half, far away from their kingdom. There were rumors of an attack by the rebels, and she didn't want him to get caught in the fighting. So, he grabbed his four closest friends and brought them with him. Without their girlfriends to calm them down, they've been fighting and complaining, their sanity slowly disintegrating.

Sasuke was always given everything he wanted growing up. He was the beloved vampire prince, adored by 99% of the female population. Him and his brother, Itachi, couldn't go anywhere without being hounded by love-crazed females. His mother doted on them, and loved them. He grew up to be ridiculously handsome but, as expected, a bit of an ass. But, he still didn't have a girlfriend. Nobody, in his eyes, was good enough for him.

"You guys are so exhausting." Groaned Sasuke.

"I'd honestly rather have a slayer attack us then sit here bored until your mom says we can go back." Groaned Naruto. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"No problem, we can just give the Bloody Blossom a call, and she can come slay your whiny, complaining ass." Said Neji. Kiba let out a bark of a laugh.

"She wouldn't stop at Naruto, either. She'd probably kill all of us." Kiba said.

"How do we even know it's a girl? Couldn't it be a guy?" asked Naruto. They all gaped at him. "What? Did I say something stupid?"

"Her name is the Bloody BLOSSOM, you idiot. How many guys do you know that have that as part of their name? I sure as hell wouldn't want it." said Shikamaru.

"Not like we could know for sure! I mean, not like anyone who's ever seen it has survived!" shouted Naruto.

"She's an 'it' now?" asked Sasuke. "Idiot. Besides, my brother saw her. Remember? Said that with those hips, that chest, and that face, there left no doubt she's female." He said.

"Well we have to confirm this! Who has a picture?" said Naruto.

"We can just ask her." said Neji.

"How the hell are we going to do that?" asked Kiba.

"She's outside the hideout right now."

That's the end of that chapter!

PLEEEEEASE REVIEW. I know I sound desperate, but I really want to know what people think! Please and sank you :D


	3. Chapter 3

Hey thar :D here's Chapter 3

_I don't own Naruto, blah blah blah _

Chapter 3

As soon as Neji mentioned the famous slayer standing outside their hideout, everyone rushed to the window to have a look, praying he was lying. He wasn't. Standing there, pink hair blowing in the wind, jade eyes sparkling with malice, mouth twisted in an evil grin, was the Bloody Blossom herself. Her hair was blowing in the wind, and, well, with her bow and arrow and dagger clearly visible, she looked like the picture definition of death. And her being dressed in all black didn't help, either.

"Why do you think she's here?" whispered Naruto nervously.

"Why do you THINK she's here, idiot?" hissed Kiba. "To fucking kill us all. Turn our fangs into a necklace." He looked around frantically. "Which one of us do you think she wants?"

"All of us, probably." Said Sasuke. "Or just me."

"I say we make a run for it out the back door." said Naruto. Neji shook his head.

"Considering her reputation, I'm pretty sure she's already factored in that we might try that. You can smell the magic. There's probably a Confinement Sutra on all possible exits, except the one that leads us to her. The front door." He said, pointing to the front door. They all turned their heads towards it nervously.

"What should we do? D'ya think she's seen us?" asked Kiba.

"Probably. If not she'd have left by now." said Shikamaru. Suddenly, an arrow came crashing through a tiny window above the sink and planted itself in the wall. It seemed to have a piece of paper attached to it. Naruto screamed, thinking it was a paper bomb. Neji smacked him on the head. "Well, she's definitely seen us." muttered Shikamaru. He walked over to retrieve the paper, but was stopped by a frantic Naruto.

"Wait! What if it's a paper bomb? You could kill us all! You could"-he was cut off by a giant metal pot being smashed into the back of his head by Sasuke. He crumpled to the floor.

"Geez, he's such an idiot." Sasuke said. "Read the paper, Shikamaru." Shikamaru unfolded the piece of paper and read it aloud:

**I know you're in there. **

**You know who I want. **

**Send him out.**

**That is, unless he's chicken.**

"Did that BITCH call ME a chicken?" roared Sasuke.

"Well, no doubt who she wants." Neji muttered. He, Kiba, and Shikamaru looked at Sasuke, who sighed.

"I'm going, chill out. But don't you dare actually let me die." He said, opening the door.

"No promises." said Kiba.

**Sakura's POV:**

It was a fucking nightmare finding this place. Tsunade said that he was five miles west. That's ALL she said. There's a freaking forest five miles west. It's a big forest. After fighting through the woods for about two hours, I finally came upon a small rise in the ground with an almost unnoticeable door amidst the dirt. Fucking finally. I could make out the shapes of about three vampires through a window to the side of the door. One of them, a guy with long hair and white eyes (ew) looked out the window and saw me. He turned back to his companions, and soon five faces were pressed against the window, all eyes looking at me. I saw my target.

Sasuke Uchiha. His eyes narrowed at the sight of me. Arrogant bastard. I've heard of some of the things that he's done to female captives for information on the slayer bureau. Seduction, mostly. In some cases however, he gains the female's trust. Makes her think he cares for her. Gets all the information he can out of her, and then has her for an afternoon snack. Makes me fucking sick. Glad I'll be the one to kill him.

…

HE'S NOT COMING OUT. WHY ISN'T HE COMING OUT? GODDAMMIT!

I write a note that pretty much says send him out (unless he's chicken…wounding his male pride), wrap it on an arrow, and send it flying through a window. I hear a scream. Wait, I thought Tsunade said there were only guys there? Eh. Who cares?

A couple minutes he comes out, smirking. "Well, I am certainly honored. The Bloody Blossom, in the flesh. Glad you're so cute." He said, winking. I spit to the side. Not so cute now, am I?

"Save me the pleasantries. You know why I'm here." I said. "We can make this easy or hard. I can just kill you now, or you can fight me."

"Fight you? Why, I can't possibly hit a"-he didn't get to finish, because I suddenly appeared in front of him and punched him in the jaw. He flew backwards and hit a tree.

**Sasuke's POV:**

OW. Bitch just punched me into a tree. God, she has a hard punch.

I got to say though, I didn't expect her to be this good looking. Makes it a little bit nicer. She seems to want a fight. Well, she can have one. I stand up and face her. Her eyes are narrowed into slits, and she has her arrow knocked, pointing straight at me. I see the point of the arrow glistening. Holy water.

"You want a fight?" I ask. She smirks and nods.

"You got one."

Well, that's the end of that! I'll try to get chapter 4 up soon, but it might be kinda hard with school and everything :P I shall do my best!


	4. Chapter 4

Hallah back mothafuckas

Sorry I'm late. School's been a bitch

I'm probably going to be late on other chapters too

Here's chapter 4

**Warning: this chapter contains a fight scene and I suck ass at those-so sorry in advance **

_I don't own Naruto_

Chapter 4:

Sasuke crouched in something of a fighting stance as Sakura pulled her bow back even further, her eyes narrowing. As he was about to make a move, she said "Wait."

"What?" he asked, stopping.

"Your chicken friends can't interfere." She said. Sasuke glanced at his friends. The only one who would actually jump in and try to save him would be Naruto. He may be, as Sakura said, a chicken, but he was Sasuke's best friend. He wouldn't let him get hurt.

"Fine. Fair game I suppose, since you're alone." He smirked. Sakura's eyes narrowed further. "Ready…set…g"- he didn't get to finish his sentence as Sakura sent an arrow flying at him with breakneck speed. He jumped out of the way just in time to get only a small cut, and the arrow planted itself in a tree, which began to dissolve. Sasuke's eyes widened. "How much holy water do you have?"

"Enough." Sakura said. "That cut's gonna sting like a bitch in a few minutes as soon as the holy water sinks in. Enjoy it."

"If you come lick it better maybe it won't hurt." said Sasuke jokingly.

_Does he HAVE a death wish? Asshole just told me to come lick his cheek! I'd rather die. I'm going to hit him with a barrage of arrows and –no, calm down Sakura. You only have about ten arrows, and you're going to need every one. Most for the getaway that I'm going to have to improvise once I kill this idiot. Dagger's the best way to go. I have to get closer. _Thought Sakura. _Fuck, here he comes!_

Sasuke lunged at Sakura, hoping to catch her off guard. She did a kind of spin to avoid him, but he recovered and flew back at her, knocking her to the ground. He quickly jumped on top of her, grinning evilly.

"What's the matter, Bloody Blossom? A little off your game today?" he asked, baring his fangs.

_Think, Sakura, think! Damn, I can't reach my dagger! Think, what's every guy's weakness?_ Then it hit her. _Of course…_

Sakura brought her knee up and nailed Sasuke in the crotch. He sputtered and Sakura took advantage of his momentary weakness to kick him off her. She stood up and grabbed her dagger. Sasuke stumbled to his feet, heaving, eyes glowing a dangerous red. Sakura could feel the sweat running down her face. _He's probably the toughest opponent I've faced in a while._

"That was a cheap shot." Sasuke choked out, no longer playful. He was serious. He ran at Sakura, and was suddenly in front of her. She tried to punch him, but he dodged it and sank his fist into her stomach. Sakura groaned and try to kneecap him, but he grabbed her arm and threw her against a tree. She managed to stand up and gave him an evil smirk, blood running down her mouth.

"You forgot something." She said. Sasuke suddenly felt it. Pain shot through his face, then the rest of his body. "Fuck!" he groaned.

"All my weapons are covered in holy water. My arrows are no different." She said. She pulled out her dagger. "Well, it was nice knowing you." Sakura ran at Sasuke, who was doubled over on the ground. Holy water was no joke for vampires.

Just as Sakura was about to land a final blow, however, Neji quickly appeared in front of Sasuke. Sakura's eyes widened and she faltered, allowing Neji to throw her against a boulder. She slumped to the ground, unconscious. Neji turned to Sasuke. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Hurts like a bitch though." He said bitterly. He looked to Sakura's unconscious form. Neji moved toward it, fangs bared. "Wait!" said Sasuke. Neji looked at him in confusion.

"What?"

"Don't kill her." Sasuke said.

"What? Why? She almost killed you. She will kill you when she wakes up. Besides, you'd be ridding the world of a powerful slayer." Said Neji, surprised.

"She could have killed both of us when you jumped in front of me. I know it, you know it, and she knows it. But she didn't. I want to know why." said Sasuke.

"So what should we do with her then?" asked Neji. Sasuke thought.

"Pick her up and chain her in the cell in the basement." He said. Neji nodded, picked up Sakura's unconscious form, and carried her inside.

_ Why didn't she just kill us both?_

There's the end of chapter 4! I'm probably not going to come out with another chapter for a couple of weeks, because I have a tournament this weekend and then next week is Homecoming Week, so I'll be really busy. Sorry! I'll try my best.


	5. Chapter 5

SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG It's homecoming week, I have a choir concert next week, and school soccer is starting :P this weekend I'm really busy but I'll try my best to get a new chapter up! Thanks for being so understanding

Chapter 5

As soon as Sasuke walked into the house, Naruto jumped on him, practically sobbing. "I thought you were a goner!" he cried.

"No thanks to you." Sasuke said, pushing the hysterical blonde off him. "Neji done yet?" he asked.

"Nah, he's still chaining her up enough to where she can't escape and shove our head up each other's asses." Kiba said. "Why'd you let her live? You should just kill her. Do us and the rest of our kind a whole lot of good."

"She could have killed both Neji and I easily, but she didn't. I want to know why." said Sasuke.

"WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO RISK OUR LIVES BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE HOTS FOR HER?" screamed Naruto. He jumped on Sasuke and began to shake his shoulders violently. Sasuke threw him through a wall.

"He's not doing it because of that, idiot. Well, not _just _because of that, anyways. Think about it: she's killed hundreds of vampires with seemingly no remorse. Yet, when given a golden opportunity to kill the vampire prince and probably gain herself renowned fame, she doesn't. Wouldn't you want to know why?" said Shikamaru. Naruto grumbled something under his breath.

Suddenly the door swung open. Naruto let out a shrill scream that could rival that of a five-year old girl. "Shut up, you moron." Said an irritated Neji from the doorway. Naruto's face had lost all of its color. Kiba rolled his eyes.

"How is she?" asked Sasuke.

"I got her chained up by her arms, but her weapons are still in the room. Not quite in reaching distance, however. I'm not risking scratching myself with a knife covered in holy water. Sasuke's only not half dead because he has his royal blood that is stronger than the average vampire." He said. Sasuke nodded.

"Fine. I'll talk to her when she wakes up." he said.

"What'll you do with her once she tells you what you want to know?" asked Kiba. They all looked at him. Sasuke was taken aback. He hadn't thought that far ahead.

"No idea." He said. Their jaws dropped (Shikamaru's in a yawn) and Naruto looked ready to pass out.

To Sakura:

Sakura groggily awakened only to find herself in a cell of some sorts, with her arms chained to the wall. She pulled on the restraints but they didn't come loose. _Fuck. I figured I'd wake up to white puffy clouds and Jesus telling me to get my ass into hell. _She looked over to see her weapons in the corner of the room, still glinting with the holy water. Put literally about two inches out of her reach._ Whoever did that is going to get fisted by my arrow. _

Sakura looked around the tiny cell and considered her options. _They think I'm still unconscious. Should I holler at them, or stay quiet and try to find a way out? But wait, why the hell am I even still alive? If I was them I'd've killed me._ After thinking about it, she decided. She took a huge gulp of breath and screamed:

"HEY MOTHERFUCKERS, LET ME OUT OF HERE NOW, I'LL SHOVE YOUR HEADS UP EACH OTHER'S ASSES!"

To Sasuke and Co.

Everyone twitched as they heard Sakura's scream echo through the house. Naruto fainted. Shikamaru kicked his unconscious form. Neji looked at Sasuke.

"Do you want us to come with you to talk to her?" he asked. Sasuke shook his head.

"No. I don't want you hearing what we say. I'll tell you and Shikamaru later, but I don't want Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Idiot overhearing." He said, pointing at Kiba, who was poking Naruto. Kiba suddenly looked up, angry.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, you fucker?" he roared. Neji rolled his eyes.

"It means that you're an idiot." Sasuke said, opening the door that led to the basement where Sakura was held.

THAT'S ALL! I'm so sorry it's so short, but I really wanted to get something up since it's been so long! Next one will be much, much longer, I promise! Ex-scout's honor!


	6. Chapter 6

THANK YOU FOR BEING SO PATIENT

I took the SAT today T_T worst 5 hours of my life

As promised, this chapter is extra long! I have a bit more time now since my SAT and choir concert are over, but I still have school soccer, so updates still might be a bit late :P

Chapter 6:

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she heard footsteps coming towards her. She angrily blew a stray piece of hair out of her face, which, of course, fell right back in front of her eyes. The footsteps got closer and closer until finally, there was a shadow looming over her. She glared up at it, having a good idea who it was. Dark red eyes started down at her.

"Well, look at this. The great Bloody Blossom brought down at last." He said, smirking. Sakura spit in his face. His smirk turned into a glare. "I have some questions for you."

"Go fuck yourself. I won't give away anything." Sakura said. _He wants information about the Slayer's Bureau. _

"It doesn't require you telling me anything about your little slaying organization." Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. Sakura looked up at him in surprise.

"What do you want to know, then?" she asked, eyeing him curiously._ What else could he want to know?_

"Are you soft?" he asked. Sakura's eyes widened in anger.

"Soft? Are you shitting me? Of course not!" she said angrily.

"Really? Then why didn't you kill me?" Sasuke said tauntingly.

"What are you talking about?" hissed Sakura.

"Don't act like you don't know." Sasuke scoffed. "Back when we were fighting. Neji jumped right in front of me when you were about to finish me off. But instead of killing us both like we both know you could have, you stopped. You could have sent that blade of yours through both of us. However, you stopped and allowed yourself to be hit, thus leading you to be here. Why? Why didn't you kill us both? You're known for being ruthless when it comes to slaying. But you held back. Why?" he said. Sakura's eyes widened.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck! He knows…he knows I don't like killing anyone who isn't my intended target. I can't tell him that! Act dumb…just play dumb long enough to think of a way out of here._

"I couldn't have killed you both. My dagger isn't long enough to go through the both of you." Sakura said, knowing that was a lie.

"Wrong." Sasuke said. He picked up Sakura's dagger, pressed down on the emerald encrusted on the hilt, and watched as the blade suddenly doubled in length. Sakura froze. _Shit. _"Not too much is known about you, but one thing that is known is that you have a dagger that can become longer with a touch to the jewel on the hilt. So, I ask again: why didn't you simply kill him along with me?" he said, eyeing her. Sakura wracked her brain for another lie, but she couldn't find one.

"I don't have to tell you anything. And I refuse to." She said coldly. Sasuke twitched. He wasn't used to being denied what he wanted.

"Tell me or else." He demanded. Sakura let out a loud laugh.

To Neji and Co.

They heard a loud laugh come from downstairs. Naruto twitched.

"That's the devil's laugh." He croaked. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

To Sasuke and Sakura

Sakura laughed. "Or else? Or else WHAT? You're going to torture me? Been there, done that. Would you like to see the scars?" she said sweetly, as if offering to show him her vacation photos. "They go pretty high up. There are some perverts out there, after all. Am I going to find out if you're one of them?" she said, smirking at Sasuke. The threat of torture didn't even make her flinch anymore.

_Damn…what IS my 'or else'? I didn't think she'd be immune to threats. _"I can make your time here a living hell." He said.

Sakura sighed. "You might as well kill me. I'm not going to tell you anything. And trust me, I'm stubborn." She said.

"So am I. I have no problem keeping you here until you decide to fess up." Sasuke said.

"Fine. I'll just escape and kill you in your sleep anyways." Said Sakura.

"We'll see. Oh by the way, what should I call you?" Sasuke asked, now legitimately curious. "Nobody in the vampire world knows your real name. What is it?"

"Nobody in the slayer or human world knows it either, and it's going to stay that way, I'm afraid." Sakura said.

"What are we supposed to call you then?"

"Use your imagination. But nothing referring to my hair." Sakura said. She hated nicknames that referred to her hair color. She didn't choose pink, and not like she can just waltz into a store and buy hair dye. She has to keep a constant low profile for her own safety.

"Why doesn't anybody know your real name?" asked Sasuke. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"What's with the pleasantness all of the sudden?" she asked. Sasuke gave her an annoyed look. She sighed. "It's for the sake of protection. If your kind knew who I really was, that could cause a lot of problems for my boss."

"Well give me something to call you, or you're going to be 'it' for the duration of your stay." Sasuke said, irritated.

"Fine. Call me Takako." She said. Takako was her mother's name, and a name she had always been particularly fond of (author's note: I LOVE that name).

"Takako? Why Takako?" Sasuke asked.

"I just like that name. I won't answer to anything else. Besides Taka if you want." Sakura said.

"It doesn't suit you."

"Too bad." Sakura said. They glared at each other for a few minutes before Sasuke nodded.

"Fine. Takako then." He said. He turned and started to walk away.

"Hold up." Said Sakura. Sasuke turned around.

"What?"

"Got any food? I'm hungry." She said. She hadn't gotten a chance to eat yet, as she left for the mission right after leaving Tsunade's office. "Oh, and I need to use your bathroom too."

"You're going to be a real pain in the ass, aren't you?" Sasuke said.

"You bet." Sakura said, winking. "Thanks a bunch, Sasuke-_kun._"

"No problem, Taka_-chan._" He said, smirking. Sakura grimaced as he walked away. She sighed and looked around the tiny cell. _I've got to find a way out of here._ Then she saw it. Sasuke had dropped her dagger, and it was within reaching distance. Sakura grinned.

_Found you._

That's the end of chapter 6! I tried to make it extra long! Please be patient for the next chapter so sorry again!


	7. Chapter 7

Hey amihos. Sorry it took so long. AGAIN. I'm gaddamn busy right now and it's going to be that way clear through finals, which are five weeks away :P

Please enjoy!

Chapter 7:

Sasuke walked up the steps back to where his friends were arguing in the kitchen, this time over whether the Blo- _Takako's_ hair color was real.

"Come on, pink? How can that be natural? She obviously dyes it." Said Neji.

"No way! It's almost the color of blood! It suits her deadly nature." Said Naruto. Kiba nodded.

"Naruto's right. It's got to be natural." Akamaru barked in agreement.

"If any of you bothered to read her profile in the bingo book, you'd see that it says unusual hair color. If it wasn't natural then they'd list her natural color." Said Sasuke. They all looked at him.

"What did she say?" asked Shikamaru.

"She didn't tell me. I'm going to keep her here until she cracks." Sasuke said. Naruto squeaked (Sorry I'm making him such a chicken, it's just fun).

"Did you get a name out of her?" asked Neji. Sasuke shook his head.

"She said to call her Takako. Apparently it was her mother's name or something."

"That doesn't suit her." Said Kiba, making a face.

"I don't think so either. But that's all she gave me, so we'll have to deal with it." Sasuke replied.

To Sakura:

Sakura had grabbed her dagger and was now pondering on how to use it to escape. She couldn't cut through the chains, or the wall, so…

_Dammit. I could get out of here if I could just get through these chains. But how…hmm…got it! _Sakura held the tip of the blade over the chains and waited. After a few seconds, a bead of holy water dripped from the point and onto the chains, which dissolved rapidly, as if dipped in acid. Sakura grinned. Vampire-made products were just as vulnerable to holy water as the vampires themselves.

_I don't have much holy water on the dagger. It dried out. I'm going to have to prioritize. First the chains._ _But what after that? There's no window in here. _Then it hit her._ Fuck! The only way out of here is through the front door, which is in the kitchen where all those vampires are. Shit._ Sakura considered her options. _Threats definitely won't work. What about that one kid…the blonde one. He was a coward. Can I use that? No, he'd just pass out._ She was effectively trapped unless she could find a way to make it through the kitchen.

_A diversion might work. Send an arrow in one direction, and then run as soon as the coast is clear? But what if they leave someone behind to keep watch? Well, I'll have to take my chances and fight._ As soon as Sakura finished dissolving her chains, she grabbed her bow and arrows and bottle of holy water. She dropped a couple drops of holy water on the lock and slowly pushed the door open. Making her way slowly and quietly up the stairs, she heard the voices of the vampires talking. Sounded like someone had tripped over a foot and they were arguing over whose foot it was._ Dumbasses. _

Sakura loaded her bow and fired at a picture of the Sharingan Kingdom coat of arms. It exploded. Sakura heard shouts of confusion and terror (from Naruto) come from the kitchen. She quickly hid in a corridor as they came running.

"What the fuck happened?" shouted Kiba.

"What do you think happened, you idiot? Find her!" shouted Sasuke. They all ran towards the room where Sakura had been previously held.

_This is my chance._ Clutching her weapons tightly, Sakura started towards the door. Then she stopped. _This may be the only chance I get to qualify for the Promotion Exams. If I leave now, I might never be eligible again._ She considered her options: possible death and possible eligibility, or safety but possibly not being eligible ever again. _If I die now, then there'll be no point. I have to leave. I still have two days left. I can come back._ Sakura ran towards the door. Just as she was about to reach the opening, an arm wrapped around her neck and held her back. She slammed against a muscled body and felt lips next to her ear.

"I swear to fucking god, if you don't give me a reason not to suck you dry in the next fifteen seconds, then you're going to find yourself very wanting of blood." A furious voice rasped out. _Sasuke._

"B-because if you ki-kill me now, th-then you won't get the h-honor of bringing me b-back to your ki-kingdom." Sakura rasped out. Sasuke was making it very difficult for her to breathe. Suddenly his arm was removed, but he tangled his fist in her hair and snapped her head to the side, exposing her neck. His fangs grazed over the skin. "D-do it. I d-dare you." said Sakura angrily. She had been stupid to waste so much time wondering about whether or not to kill him, and now she's been recaptured.

Sasuke spun her around and grabbed her chin, bringing her face dangerously close to his. His eyes bore angrily into hers, and she stared back at him with equal fervor. "Fine. You make a good point. But pull shit like this again, and I won't be as easy on you." He said. "For your punishment, I'll"-he stopped suddenly as he looked into her eyes. They had grown wide; not with fear, but with anxiety. He was assuming she had never been so close to someone like this before, vampire or not. There was softness, and innocence in her eyes that he did not want to make vanish. He sighed and released her. She looked at him, confused.

"So you're letting me off the hook?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, all innocence gone, replaced with sarcasm and rage. Sasuke nodded.

"This time. Neji will lead you to where you'll be confined. Don't pull shit like this again or you won't like what happens." He said. She nodded. Neji came, grabbed her arm, and pulled her away. Sasuke sighed and watched her pink hair as it danced away into the shadows.

_What the hell did I just feel?_

So there it was. Probably not as exciting as you had hoped :P. I know the story and their relationship is progressing insanely slowly, but I'm taking this chapter by chapter. I tried to make something spark between them here, but let me know how it turned out.


	8. Chapter 8

I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG. I've been GADDAMN busy and I've got finals in a couple weeks so teachers are piling on hella last minute shit :P but after finals are over I'll have much more time to write

Enjoy!

Chapter 8:

Sakura was thrown harshly into a different cell and locked up tight. Her legs were both attached to giant iron balls and her wrists were chained together. Her weapons were far out of her reach. For the first time, Sakura felt completely helpless. _I'm trapped with no way out. I'm going to be…killed. I'm going to die._

_Die?_

_Am I really going to…die?_

Sakura had never imagined herself being killed during a job. She had come close, but she'd never believed that she actually would die. Her eyes burned. Then, to her great surprise, she felt hot tears slipping down her face. She hadn't cried in years. _Stop this right now, Sakura! You're being such a wimp! So what if you die? Stop crying now!_ Sakura slapped herself to try to toughen herself.

"You shouldn't be so tough on yourself." said a voice. Shikamaru stepped out of the shadows. Sakura looked at him curiously.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Shikamaru. Sasuke's friend. You're the Bloody Blossom. Said to call you Takako, right?" he said. Sakura nodded. "Anyways, as I said, don't be so tough on yourself. It's a waste of time and energy."

"If I'm not tough on myself, then I end up dead." said Sakura, bitterly.

"Listen. Sasuke's not a bad guy. Sure he acts like an ass, and really can be one, but he's not all bad. He's just driven to be accepted by his father, so he acts like a dick so he can succeed. It's twisted logic, but it's how he thinks." Shikamaru said.

"So what's he planning to do with me then?" asked Sakura.

"I don't know. I don't think he knows either. He just really wants to know why you didn't kill him. But he won't kill you. Not himself, anyway."

"But he'll still get me killed." said Sakura.

"He has to. It's his duty. As I said, he's not a bad guy. Keep that in mind." Shikamaru said, and with that, he walked away, leaving Sakura to ponder what he had said.

To the Guys:

Shikamaru came wandering back into the kitchen lazily. Sasuke looked at him curiously and he just shrugged his shoulders. Sasuke was reading a letter.

"Who's that from, Sasuke?" asked Neji.

"My mother." Said Sasuke curtly. They all read over his shoulder:

_Dear Sasuke:_

_ How have you been? Are you eating alright? Getting enough exercise? Just because I'm not there doesn't mean you don't have to take care of yourself young man._

"You're totally whipped, dude." Kiba snickered. Sasuke hit him and continued reading.

_Anyways, I'm writing to tell you that you're going to be there for quite a while longer. It'll be three weeks to a month until your father will allow you to come home. You know how stubborn he gets. I'm sorry you'll have to be there for so long, but I'm sure your friends are making it better. I know they're pining over not having their girlfriends there, so they may be dropping in for a visit sometime. I'm not sure. Tell Naruto-san hi for me._

_ Love, _

_ Mom_

Sasuke groaned. If his friends' girlfriends came to visit, that would mean that things would get a helluva lot louder, especially with Ino around. But maybe having them around would keep _Takako _from trying to run off. Having girls around would distract her for awhile. Sasuke thought about it and made a decision.

"If you guys want your girlfriends to come visit, write to them now and tell them they can come for a couple of days." Sasuke said. Naruto and Kiba's jaws dropped and they both sprinted to their rooms to begin writing. Neji and Shikamaru nodded and calmly walked towards their rooms as well. Sasuke collapsed on the couch. _These next few days are going to be long and miserable._

Okay, that's it. I am going to formally apologize for the shitiness of this chapter and the length of it because it's short as hell. I'm really, really, really sorry. I started this chapter like a month ago and just fucking forgot about it because I have finals and everything, but now that I'm on break I'm going to try to get at least 2 more chapters out before I leave to visit my family after Christmas. So, again, I apologize for this suckish chapter and I'll make sure the next one is MUCH better.


	9. UPDATEAPOLOGY

AUGH I'M SO SORRY. This is not a chapter but an apology and an update on the story! I know I promised 2 new chapters by the end of break, and, well, that all kind of got chucked out the window because I forgot. I'm going to be gone all next week so I won't get a chance to write When I get back I'll try to get a chapter up but school will be starting again, I have soccer and SAT's, and well…pretty much it's going to be a bitch. But I'll try my best. Again I'm so sorry for not putting up a chapter! I'll try to make the next one extra long and extra good ;) Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and thank you for putting up with my extreme tardiness! 3


	10. Chapter 9

OKAY. FINALLY, HERE IS CHAPTER 9. Again, I'm sorry for how gaddamn long it took :P Okay, on we go! :D

Sasuke's POV:

Today was the day that my friend's girlfriends would come over and hopefully get them to shut the fuck up. They've been whining nonstop (mostly Naruto and Kiba anyways) and this will hopefully get them to stop for awhile. I ran his fingers through my hair at the thought of Ino being anywhere near him…oh sure, she was long over her childhood crush on me, but she took getting over it to a whole new level. She _hates _me now. _Geez, this is why I don't like blondes…better go talk to Taka._

Sasuke walked down the stairs to the cell where "Taka" (he still couldn't get used to calling her that-he knew there was no way that was her real name) was chained up. And chained up tight this time. When I entered the room, she looked up at me. I expected a glare and some profanities, but what I got was completely different.

Her eyes were dull, sunken. There was no longer the sparkle that there was when he first saw her. They were lifeless. She was lifeless. She'd only been here a few days, but you could already see that she'd lost some weight. Even her strange hair looked duller. She looked up at me with empty eyes and frowned.

"What do you want? I've done nothing wrong." She said. I shook my head.

"I know. I just wanted to tell you that some people will be coming over for a couple of days. Some girls. You'll be allowed to talk to them if they come down here." I told her. She shrugged. "One more thing. Are you getting enough to eat?" I asked. She looked at me, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"You just look really pale. And really thin. Like too thin. Are you getting enough to eat?" I asked again. I felt concerned. Why, though? I could hear Naruto's voice echo in my head: _You have a crush on her!_ I shook the thought out of my mind. Impossible. She's just a prisoner. Besides, she's a murderer of my kind! No way I could have any feelings for her.

…Right?

I realized I had been staring off into space, so I shook my head again and looked at her. "Well?"

She shrugged again. "I guess. I don't know. I never eat that much anyway. But I guess this is even less." She said. I nodded.

"Okay. I'll start giving you more food. And I'll make it better. Okay?" I said. She blushed and nodded. I heard a muttered "Thank you." I turned and walked away, blushing myself. _Blushing? What the hell, Sasuke? You don't have any feelings for her! You don't! Oh god, fuck it. I do. I really do. I mean, anyone else I wouldn't have given two shits if they were eating enough. But her…_her…_I just can't not care. Shit. Shit shit shit. _Then I noticed that, for reasons I can't understand, I was pitching quite the tent in my pants. I groaned and headed for the shower.

Sakura's POV:

What the hell? Why in all the hells am I blushing right now? All he did was tell me that he was pretty much genuinely concerned for my health and he'd make sure I got more food. So why am I blushing? This is BULLSHIT! _Not like I have a crush on him or anything…do I? How could I? The asshole captured me and locked me up! But he's been good to me. Nice, kind. Well, for the most part. He did almost bite me. But I almost blew him up…oh, fuck it! I do. Goddammit. _I don't understand how this could happen. I'm supposed to be totally in control of myself.

Whatever. He said he has girls coming over. Not like he'd ever return my feelings anyway. He's probably a manwhore. _Sigh. Whatever. Might as well get some sleep._ I closed my eyes, and dreamed of the days when I wasn't involved in this assassination business. When I was normal, home, with my parents, where I belonged.

Next Day

Sasuke's POV:

I waited. I waited for the chaos that was to come. And finally, it came. I heard the soft, timid knock on the door. Then someone pounded.

"What the hell? Did someone"-Kiba opened the door and was silenced by Ino tackling him to the ground and kissing him. They started rolling around on the ground, lost in their hazy love. I rolled my eyes. Hinata walked in the door and was immediately tackled by Naruto, who was practically crying with glee. Tenten ran in and hugged Neji, and Temari just grinned and walked over to Shikamaru, who was sighing.

"Not more women to deal with." He said dejectedly. Temari slapped him upside the head and kissed him.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Neji, after he had untangled himself from Tenten's embrace.

"Sasuke invited us over." Said Ino, still wrapped around Kiba. They all looked at me.

"I couldn't take your whining anymore." I said. Naruto hugged me and started sobbing how thankful he was. I rolled my eyes again.

"Wait a minute." Said Temari, glaring at me. "Why did Shikamaru say _more _women?" Ah Temari, ever the observer.

"Have you been messing around?" demanded Ino, glaring daggers at Kiba. He shook his head frantically.

"There has been a woman here, and she's still here. I captured the Bloody Blossom. I'm holding her here until my mother says I can come back home, and then I'm taking her with me." I said. Their jaws dropped.

"The B-Bloody Blossom, h-here? Is t-that safe?" Hinata stammered.

"Don't worry, my Hinata, we've got her chained up tight!" said Naruto, kissing her.

"Speaking of which, go talk to her would you? I told her that she might be able to talk to people that weren't us yesterday. She pretty much hates us." I said. And plus, being girls, they might be able to tell if she has any feelings for me. Goddammit, I am such a teenager.

"Talk to the Bloody Blossom? Are you crazy?" Ino said.

"She's got no weapons on her, and she's chained up. Just do it." Neji said. Ino stuck out her tongue at him.

"Well, what could it hurt, right? Come on guys, let's go." Said Tenten, and they disappeared down the stairs.

Sakura's POV:

I was awakened by loud talking from upstairs, some of the voices being females. _Probably the girls he invited over._ Then suddenly I heard people running down the stairs. I looked up to find a group of girls looking at me, smiling.

Well, that's it! I really hope it was worth the wait! I'll try to get a new chapter up by the end of next week! Thank you for staying faithful to the story, I truly appreciate it


	11. Chapter 10

Hey there biatches I'm finally writing another chapter! Hallah. Thanks for being so patient. Or, if you weren't patient, not ripping me a new one for taking so long. So, without further ado, here's chapter 10! Oh btdubbs this chapter will be solely about Sakura.

Sakura's POV:

I looked up and found four girls staring at me, some scared, some curiously. I gulped. "Um…may I help you?" I asked nervously.

"So you're the Bloody Blossom?" asked a blonde girl with a long ponytail. Her blue eyes were bearing down on me and I suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable. I nodded. "Damn, you're not nearly as ugly as I imagined. In fact, you're actually pretty. Whenever I used to picture what you'd look like, you were always really ugly." She said. I just stared. _ So…was that a compliment?_

A dirty blonde with her hair in four pigtails stepped up and put her hand on the blonde girl's shoulder. "For God's sake Ino, lay off. You're freaking her out." She said. "What's your name?" she asked me.

"It's Sa-Takako." I said. I mentally smacked myself. I almost told them my real name. The dirty blonde smiled.

"Cool. My name's Temari. This is Ino," she pointed to the blonde girl "Hinata," she pointed to a timid-looking dark haired girl who looked suspiciously like that asshole, what's his name…Shinji? Oh, Neji. "And Tenten." She pointed to a brunette with two buns at the top of her head, who gave me a nervous wave. I nodded my head, too tired and confused to wave back.

"So…are you guys all Sasuke's girlfriends or something?" I asked. They all stared at me. Ino made sounds as if she was about to puke. "Um, did I say something wrong?"

"None of us are, ever have been, or ever will be Sasuke's girlfriend." Said Tenten. "We're his friends' girlfriends, and we came to visit our men, make sure they weren't getting into trouble." I nodded in understanding.

"So how'd you end up captured? From what we've been told, you're the best of the best." Asked Temari. I sighed.

"Let's just say my conscience got the best of me." I said bitterly. Suddenly I remembered something. "Hey, what day is it?"

"Sunday." Said Hinata.

"FUCK!" I shouted. My four days were long past up. I had gotten my assignment on Monday. It had been almost a week. _Goodbye, Promotion Exams. _I felt my eyes start to burn again. _Crying, again? Dammit Sakura, pull yourself together for Christ's sake!_ But I couldn't. I felt hot tears slip down my face. What had been my dream for my whole life was now gone. No way will I be allowed to take the Promotion Exams now. Not after messing up such an important mission. I'd never be a Gold Rank Vampire Slayer. I looked up to see the girls looking at me with confused yet sympathetic faces. _Strange; I'm the murderer of their kind, yet they're feeling sorry for me. It's amazing what girls can do sometimes._

"What's the matter?" asked Ino softly.

"Hm? Oh, n-nothing. I'm fine." I said, quickly wiping my tears away. Rule #2 of slaying: never show weakness. They all gave me the 'how stupid do you think we are' look. I sighed. "Let's just say that my hopes and dreams are all officially crushed. Forever, most likely." I said.

"Why?" asked Hinata.

"You don't want to hear." I said. These girls were being nice to me and I didn't want to ruin it.

"Yes we do. Tell us." Said Tenten. I sighed.

"I had a mission to…kill Sasuke. I had to do it in four days; otherwise I wouldn't be able to qualify for the tests that would allow me to increase my rank. It's been almost a week now. So it's all over. I'm going to be stuck here until Sasuke takes me back to the Sharingan Kingdom and I'm publicly executed." I said. They all had their mouths wide open.

"That's horrible!" said Tenten. I cringed. "That Sasuke would keep you from being able to achieve what you've wanted for years, I'm appalled." I relaxed.

"To tell you the truth, he's been pretty nice to me these last couple of days." I said quietly, not intending for them to hear. They, however, seem to have Vulcan hearing, for they all smiled.

"Really? He has been? Does he have a crush on you?" asked Ino excitedly.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, he's gotten slowly nicer to me since I've been here, and he gave me this really deep look the other day." They all gasped.

"Sasuke's got a crush on you!" squealed Ino. I laughed.

"I doubt that. I mean, I'm the slayer of his kind. Besides, he doesn't know anything about me." I said, shaking my head.

"Well, do you like him?" asked Hinata. _That _question caught me by surprise, mostly because I didn't know the answer. Do I? I mean, he captured me; pretty much erased all my dreams. And yet…the look in his eyes, his caring side…

"I do." I admitted. They all smiled.

"That's so cute! It's like Romeo and Juliet!" said Tenten. "The vampire and the vampire slayer fall in love!"

My eyes widened. "Um, I'm not sure if it's quite love yet…" I said, then slapped my hand over my mouth. _Yet._ Yet? Do I expect to fall in love with him? _Well, since I'm making confessions to myself, I'll say that yes I do, considering that I'm pretty much halfway there right now._

They were all grinning at me. "Well, this calls for a huge change in plans." Said Temari.

"Change in plans?" I asked nervously. She nodded.

"We originally came here to be with our boyfriends and relax. But we have a new objective now:

MAKE SASUKE FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU!"

That's all! Thanks for reading I'll try to have a new one up soon considering that I say that every time and never do, just bear with me ^^


	12. Chapter 11

Hey, here's another chapter for you! Hope you enjoy it :D This chapter will revolve around Sasuke, and probably be shorter than the last one. Sorry :-/

Chapter 11

Sasuke's POV:

I watched the girls walk down to the basement where Taka was being held. As soon as I turned back around, I saw Naruto, Kiba, and even Neji and Shikamaru grinning at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Don't 'what' us." Said Kiba. "You like her, don't you?"

"There were several 'hers' in the room, so you'll have to be more specific." I said. He glared at me.

"You know who we damn well mean, asshole. _Taka, _or whatever fake name she gave you. You like her, huh? That's why you sent the girls down there, because you know that they'll be talking about it, and they'll find out if she likes you or not." He said. I almost fainted. _Since when did he get so goddamn smart? Should I deny it? No, I shouldn't. If this dumbass was smart enough to figure it out, so can the rest of them._

"Okay fine, I like her. Big deal. She's really hot." I said, trying to pass it off as a 'hot crush' (which is liking someone because they're hot). They didn't buy it.

"Hey, no judgment, man. I mean, sure she's a ruthless assassin who's killed probably a hundred of our kind, but still, no judgment." Said Neji. I raised my eyebrows. _Was that sarcasm?_

"Um, thanks?" I said. "Look, not like I'm planning to marry her or anything. It's just a crush. Besides, not like my parents would approve, even if I did plan to do anything with it."

"Imagine the look Itachi would have on his face if you brought the Bloody Blossom back to the castle and told them she was your girlfriend." Naruto said, grinning at the thought.

_Oh god. _I can just imagine Itachi's stunned face. Then it would turn red from rage that I would even consider hooking up with the most feared vampire slayer known to man. Smoke would blow out his ears. Then he's get a good look at her, realize she's just as hot as he remembered her, then calm down. Then mother and father would get in a fight while he would ask me what the hell I'm thinking, dating someone who might well kill me that night. "It might piss him off a little."

"So, are you going to tell her?" asked Shikamaru.

"Why would he? Considering the way he's treating her, do you really think she returns his feelings?" said Kiba.

"What do you mean 'the way he's treating her'?" I asked irritably. He shrugged.

"Well, you locked her up, almost drained her, locked her up again, and she must know that you're going to take her back to the Sharingan Castle once you go back." He said. "I mean, if you did that to me, I sure as hell wouldn't fall for you."

"Like I'd want you to." I said, glaring at him.

"Actually, she could have. It's like Beauty and the Beast." Neji said. We all stared at him.

"Um, what the hell is that?" asked Naruto.

"It's some American fairytale. I mean, _I _never read it, but Hinata did and always told me about it." said Neji, blushing. We all raised our eyebrows at him. "Anyways, in that story, the beautiful girl, Taka, is captured by the hideous beast, in this case, Sasuke."

"Fuck you." I said, throwing a punch, which he barely dodged.

"He locked her up, and despite his awful personality"-I kicked him in the head, and he went flying into the table, which broke in half. He stood up and brushed himself off. "As I was saying, despite his awful personality, she fell in love with him, even though he had imprisoned her, and he falls in love with her. Eventually, he turns back into a handsome prince, and they get married." He finished.

"Are you saying that I'm going to marry her?" I grumbled. If it was Naruto or Kiba who had said that, I would have kicked their asses. But I can't beat Neji. He's nearly as or as powerful as I am. Last time we fought I got a hole in my stomach that took 3 weeks to heal.

"He's saying that it's not out of the question that she returns your feelings." Said Shikamaru, rolling his eyes.

"So what if she does? What are we going to do, share a romantic kiss then run off into the sunset or some shit?" I said. Seriously, I'm starting to wonder how smart they actually are.

"Why not? You haven't kissed a girl since you hooked up with that Yumi chick at the last party before you left, and you said that she slobbered all over you." Kiba said, winking. _Ugh. _I shuddered. Yumi was an insanely hot girl that I drunkenly hooked up with a couple days before I came here. She had never done it before and no wonder, she had no idea how to kiss. It was like making out with a golden retriever. _Taka's way hotter anyways. _

"Don't remind me. Anyways, say she does return my feelings. Not like she'd ever be in a relationship with me." I said, and then I realized my mistake. I implied that I want to be in one with her. Which I do, but not like I'm going to tell these assholes.

"No problem! All we have to do is make her fall in love with you!" said Kiba, and they all nodded. _Shit._

That's the end! Things are heating up! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time, adieu!


	13. Chapter 12

I'M SO EARLY :D I decided that since I'm on winter break, I'd write two chapters this week! Nice, huh? ;) Well, enjoy! This is going to be a **long** chapter, so bear with me

P.S. You're going to learn about Sakura's past in this one. Hope it's good

Chapter 12

Sakura's POV:

"I really don't think this is necessary." I said, squirming as Ino covered my cheeks in pink powder. They've spent the last hour turning me into a beauty queen, which has included: cutting the ends of my hair off (which, according to Temari, were 'unacceptable'), taking it out of it's usual ponytail and brushing it, waxing my legs, eyebrows, and underarms (the guys thought there was an attack because of my screaming and came running before being yelled at to get out by Ino and Tenten), and now covering my face in makeup. They've put on what they told me is foundation, cover-up, eyeliner, mascara, and now are covering my cheeks in blush. I've tried to tell them that they don't need to do all this, but they insisted.

"Nonsense." Ino said, lifting my chin and evening out the color on my cheeks. "I love giving makeovers."

"Besides, what man doesn't like a little eye-candy?" asked Tenten. "I mean, you're plenty beautiful without all the makeup, but it never hurts, right?"

"I suppose." I mumbled. "I'm just not used to stuff like this."

"What, makeup?" asked Temari. I nodded. "Doesn't every girl wear makeup at one point or another?" I shook my head.

"Not me. I've spent my entire life training. I never had time for girly things like makeup and clothes." I said.

"How did you get involved in slaying anyways?" asked Hinata. I looked at her. I swear, an idiot like that Naruto kid should consider it a once-in-a-lifetime miracle that he got a girl like her to be his girlfriend. Her big, white eyes are enough to make any guy melt. That's not including the rest of her.

"It's kind of a long-ish story." I said. "And I've never really told anybody except my master about it." It's true. Except for Tsunade, I've never told anybody why I'm in this business. Not like I didn't want to tell them, it's just a kind of long story and I doubt they want to hear it.

"We have time." Tenten said, smiling. "If you want to share, that is." I nodded.

"It started twelve years ago, when I was five years old…"

_Flashback:_

_ I'm running home as fast as I could. It's pouring rain and I can hear the lightning crashing. I'm late getting home, and I know that means big trouble. For some reason, my parents are really strict about me getting home on time. I'm running, splashing through puddles, my pink hair flying behind me, in their pigtails. _

_ Suddenly, there's a noise behind me. I turn around, but there's nobody there. I turn around and keep running, my jade eyes wide with a nervous feeling. I suddenly remember what my mommy told me: "Sakura, there are many, many people in this world. But you need to know that not all of those people are good. There are people that are going to try to hurt you. You must never, ever let them hurt you."_

_ I got really scared all of the sudden. I ran as fast as my five-year-old legs would carry me. As I was reaching the park that indicated that home was near, two men came out of nowhere and landed in front of me, as if they fell out of the sky. I looked at them closely. One of them had long black hair and a scary face _(Note: not Itachi. These are just two random guys)_. The other had short red hair and looked a little nicer. They looked at me and started speaking to each other, softly. That's when I noticed their teeth._

_ They weren't normal. Their eyeteeth (the teeth directly below your eyes) were really pointy and long. Suddenly, I remembered a story that my friend Yumi had told me at lunch. It was about really pale people with pointy teeth who drank human blood. They were called_

_ "Vampires." I gasped. They looked at me again._

_ "What should we do with her?" asked the one with the red hair._

_ "Nothing. Leave her. Besides, I just got a message from Tatsu. They've found food." said the other one. "Some family in the blue house down the street." The red haired one nodded and they left. I gasped. The house they're talking about is mine. I started running again. When I reached my house, I wrenched the door open._

_ "Mommy! Daddy!" I screamed. Then I saw them. They were laying on the ground, in puddles of their own blood, eyes wide. Daddy's mouth was wide open, and there was no doubt that he was gone. Three men were hunched over them, drinking blood from my parent's wounds. Two of them were the men I saw before; the other had short black hair. The vampires turned around and looked at me, eyes wild._

_ "Get out of here, kid!" snarled the one with the short black hair. I looked at my parents._

_ "Mommy, I'm scared." I whispered. Still barely alive, mommy looked at me._

_ "Just get out of here sweetie. Go to Yumi's house and call the police. We'll be okay." She said, smiling weakly. "I love you, Sakura."_

_ "I love you too, Mommy." I said through my tears, before turning around and running out the door._

_ The next morning I woke up in a strange room. Last night I did what my mommy told me: ran to Yumi's house and called the police. Then I passed out. I sat up in the bed I was laying on and walked to the door. I opened it and stepped outside._

_ "Um, hello? Is anybody there?" I said weakly. A passing man with long white hair stopped and looked at me._

_ "Oh, you're awake! Good. My name's Jiraiya. Please come with me." He said, holding out his hand. I didn't see any fangs. Timidly, I took it and walked with him. He took me to a door. "Just go inside. There's someone who wants to talk to you." I thanked him and opened the door. I peeked my head in._

_ "Um…hello?" I said quietly. An old man who had been doing paperwork looked up at me and smiled._

_ "Hello dear! Please, come in, have a seat!" he said, gesturing to a chair. I went and sat down._

_ "Please, tell me what happened to my parents! Are they okay?" I cried. He looked at me with sad eyes._

_ "I'm afraid that your parents are gone, dear. They lost far too much blood." He said gently. My mouth dropped and tears fell from my eyes. _

_ "No! No no no!" I screamed, falling to my knees, sobbing. The man came over and put his hand on my shoulder._

_ "What's your name, dear?" he asked kindly. I looked up at him and wiped my eyes._

_ "S-Sakura. Sakura Haruno." I said. _

_ "My name is Sarutobi (I don't know his last name and I can't check because my internet is down right now). Would you like some tea?" he asked. I nodded. He went to his desk and made a call. Then he turned to me. "Do you know what this place is, Sakura?" he asked. I shook my head. "This is a bureau for vampire slayers. Everyone here is an elite, certified vampire slayer. Some even grew up here. Cool, huh?" I nodded._

_A few minutes later a blonde woman came and handed us each a cup of tea. "Who's this, old man?" she asked, peering down at me. _

_ "Tsunade, this is Sakura. Sakura, this is Tsunade, my star pupil, and future successor." Sarutobi said._

_ "N-nice to meet you." I said. Tsunade nodded._

_ "Same. Sorry about your folks, kiddo." She said kindly. Then she looked at Sarutobi. "What are you going to do with her, old man?" she asked._

_ "Well, I think I'll find her a family that will take care of her. I know a woman who told me that she and her husband were looking"-_

_ I cut him off. "Please, don't send me away. I want to stay here. I want to learn to kill vampires." I said. The adults looked at me in shock._

_ "Are you sure, Sakura? The life of a slayer isn't an easy one." Said Sarutobi. "There's intense training, and when you do finally get to go on missions, people lose their lives all the time."_

_ "I don't care. I want to train. I want to train and get strong so I can kill the vampires that killed my parents." I said._

_ "Ah, let her stay, old man. I'll even personally train her." Said Tsunade._

_ "What? But once you take over the company, you'll be so busy, you won't have time"-_

_ "I'll make time." Tsunade cut in. "I like this girl. I think, with good training, she could be one hell of a slayer." She looked at me. "How would you like to become my apprentice, kid?" she asked._

_ I nodded. "I would like it very much, Tsunade-sama." I said, bowing to her. She smirked at Sarutobi. _

_ "Don't worry old man. I'll make her into a mini-me." She said. She led me out of the room. "After all, this bureau could use more people like me."_

_ "Good luck, Sakura." I heard Sarutobi call to me._

_ "Thank you, ojisan." I called back. I walked with Tsunade until we stopped before a door that said _Weapon Room. _We went inside. There were hundreds of different weapons on the walls. _

_ "Time to get you suited, Sakura." Tsunade said, smiling at me._

_End Flashback._

"Wow. That's so horrible." Said Hinata. "Losing your parents at such a young age…" she trailed off. They all looked at me with apologetic looks.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura." mumbled Ino. I shrugged.

"It's okay, I guess. I mean, things could have gone a lot worse." I said. "But I still haven't found the vampires that killed my parents." I said darkly.

"When you had said that one of them had short red hair, I almost had a heart attack." Said Temari. "I thought for a second that it could have been Gaara, my younger brother. Then I remembered that he's not that old. Thank god."

"Anyways, do you guys want to get back to the makeover?" I asked. "Sorry, I just don't like talking about it too much. I turn into a giant mess if I do."

Temari shook her head. "Don't apologize. I wouldn't want to talk about it either."

"Well, you're almost done. All you need is a different outfit." Said Ino. Then she grinned. "And I think I have the perfect one."

Okay, that's all for this chapter! I hope you liked it :D I made this one super long. Don't worry, next chapter I'll have Sasuke and Sakura interact with each other again. Until next time, adieu!


	14. Chapter 13

Hey there :D Here's the next chapter! My updates are going to get slower than usual soon, because I have the SATs coming up, my internet is pretty much nonexistent at the moment, and school is just a real bitch :P But I'll do my best! For now, enjoy the chapter

Chapter 13

Sasuke's POV:

"You guys are being stupid. This isn't going to 'make her fall in love with me'." I grumbled. "Besides, who says I even want her to?"

"We're not doing anything drastic. We're just touching you up a bit appearance wise." said Kiba. "You know, doing your eyebrows, trimming your hair, stuff of that nature."

"I'm not a goddamn girl, you idiots. I don't need stuff like that." I said, wincing as Neji plucked another hair.

"Shut up. Girls like guys who look good. And your appearance isn't all that we have to work on." Neji said. I glared at him.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Shikamaru said. "You've got a quick temper, you're rude, you swear too much, and you're stubborn. No girls like those things in a guy." He ducked the kick I aimed at him.

"Well, who says I want her to 'fall in love with me'? You guys didn't even bother asking; you just tied me to this chair and started going all beauty salon on my ass." I said. These guys are all a bunch of dumbshits; even if I did want her to love me (which I'm not saying I do[though I really secretly do]), none of this crap will help.

"Yeah, well"-Naruto was cut off by what looked like Ino speeding through the kitchen, out the door, then back in holding her bag, and slammed the door down to the basement.

"You have any idea what they're doing down there?" asked Kiba nervously. We all shook our heads.

Sakura's POV:

"I'd really rather not wear that." I said, staring at Ino incredulously. In front of me was an outfit with tight leather shorts, a tube top with what looked like diamonds spelling out the word 'love' on it, thigh-high socks, and combat boots. All of this in black, of course. "I don't think it's really, uh, me."

"Why not? Black looks great on you." Tenten said. "And what guy doesn't love leather on a girl? Especially when she has legs like yours."

I blushed at the thought of Sasuke staring at my legs, then shook my head quickly. "I don't know if I even really want Sasuke to, you know, love me. Not like any of this would help anyways." I said stupidly. I don't honestly know if I want any feelings he may have to progress any further. "Besides, a vampire slayer and vampire prince? It would never work out."

"When love is real, it finds a way." Said Hinata, smiling. "It took my father two years to approve of Naruto as my boyfriend."

"That's different. You're both of the same, well, species. And his job isn't to murder your kind." I said. Temari shook her head.

"Love knows no bounds. Now, once you put that outfit on, you'll be done with the physical part of your transformation. Then we move on to how to act." She said.

"What do you mean 'how to act'?" I asked. "You have to be_ seductive, _of course! A girl can have all the looks in the world, but if she can't use them to her advantage, then they're virtually pointless! But if you can make them work in harmony, you'll have any man falling at your feet. Even an ass like Sasuke." Ino said. "So, put them on." She held the clothes out to me. I sighed.

Ten minutes later, I was standing in front of them wearing the most scandalous (and yet coolest) outfit I have ever worn. They all clapped.

"You look great." Said Hinata, smiling.

"Now for your lesson in seduction, taught by the master herself, Miss Ino Yamanaka." Temari said, gesturing at Ino, who took a bow.

"Now, let's get started, shall we?" she asked, grinning. I gulped.

Sasuke's POV:

"Well, I think we've done all we can with you." said Kiba. I glared at him. They've spent the last half hour teaching me how to control my temper, hold my tongue, and not lash out when I'm pissed. "If this doesn't get Takako to fall for you, nothing will."

"We could have just left me alone and let me try without all these changes." I grumbled.

"That wouldn't have been as fun." Naruto smirked.

"And you're much better now anyways. Your hair isn't as wild, you look cleaner, and at least around her, you know how to act like something of a gentleman." said Neji.

"So what next, then? Am I supposed to just walk down to the basement and start putting moves on her or something?" I asked. These idiots never seem to think anything through, just halfway.

"That depends on what they're doing down there. I mean, they've been there awhile, who knows what they're planning?" said Naruto.

"Maybe they're gossiping about us." said Kiba. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"While I agree that just having Sasuke barge in on them wouldn't be the best choice, we can't have him go to her. She has to come to him." Shikamaru said.

"No, he has to go to her. Make the first move." said Neji. They started arguing about what I should do. They're all stupid, no matter how you look at it. Just a bunch of dumbasses. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to block out their yelling.

Sakura's POV:

"Takako Whatever-Your-Last-Name-Is, I hereby dub you ready to go seduce the hell out of Sasuke." Ino said, tapping me on the head.

"Um, yay?" I said, nervously. While they had taught me how to attract a guy with my body (not in a super inapro-pro way), I'd still never done the thing before. "What if I mess up? I've never done it before."

"Think of it as using a new weapon for the first time." Tenten said. "You already know the mechanics; you just have to put what you know into action. Just focus, relax, and if all else fails, just push out your chest a little bit and smile. He'll melt."

"We're going to go get Sasuke down here. We'll be listening at the door. You can do it. Go get your man." Temari said, smiling. They all wished me luck and walked up the stairs.

I started thinking about this logically. If I could really seduce Sasuke and turn him into a pile of mush, I could use that to escape while he's weak. But, I kind of don't want to. I still don't know why, but I like Sasuke, and I want to see what could happen. My chances of taking the Promotion Exams are already out the window anyways, I might as well just keep going with this. I exhaled and prepared myself.

Sasuke's POV:

The guys were busy doing last-minute touch ups on me when the girls all came through the door.

"Hey Sasuke, Taka wants to talk to you." said Ino, pointing towards the basement door. "Right now." I nodded and walked towards the door, opened it, and went down the stairs.

Normal POV:

Ino, Temari, Tenten, and Hinata all rushed to the door and put their ears up to the crack. Kiba, Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru did the same.

"Um, is something going on here with you guys?" asked Kiba. Ino nodded.

"Shhhh! You'll miss it! Oh, Taka is so going to make him melt." Tenten said, grinning.

"Psh, not even. Sasuke's gonna do that to her." Said Naruto. The guys glared at the girls.

"Well I guess we'll just have to see. Now shut up and listen." Said Temari.

Sasuke's POV:  
>I walked slowly down the stairs, breathing heavily. I can't believe I'm so nervous over a girl. Not like I ever have been before. I reached the basement and stepped towards the cage door.<p>

"Takako? Are you there?" I asked.

"Why don't you come closer?" I heard her ask. Strange, her voice sounded different. I stepped into the light and nearly fainted at what I saw.

Alright that's it! Mini cliffhanger, teehee :D Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Until next time, enjoy your weekend


	15. Chapter 14

Hey homies! Got another chapter for you :D Hope you enjoy it! I think that you will.

Oh, and if anything I write somehow contradicts what I've written before, forgive me. I'm a little out of it lately.

Chapter 14

Sasuke's POV:

I stepped in the light and nearly fainted at what I saw. Sakura was sitting on the bench in the cell and looked…very different. Very different indeed. For one, I don't know where the hell she got those clothes, but I'm pretty sure that those shorts are leather and…is she wearing a tube top? Holy mother of…god she looks good in black. And she was wearing makeup. Not even a lot, but it still made her look sexy as hell.

Then I noticed her, ah, position. She was facing me, legs spread, leaning forward, and (purposely) using her arms to push her chest together, exaggerating her cleavage-not that it needed any help. She was sort of pouting at me, but in a cute way. What in the hell did those girls do to her? Whatever it was, my brain went completely dead, and I forgot that I was supposed to be 'seducing' her.

"D-did you wa-want to talk t-to me about something, T-taka?" I stammered. It was hard to form words. Her mouth curved upwards in a smirk and I almost came in my pants right then and there.

"Yes, in fact I did, Sasuke-kun." She said softly, and I froze. Her voice was low and seductive, and now she was biting her lower lip. Sweet Jesus, what this girl is doing to me. "You know, I get pretty _lonely _in this cell all by myself, all day long. Maybe you could come in here and keep me company?" she asked, baring her wide, green eyes at me.

"Um, s-sure." I said. Without thinking, I walked forward, opened the cell door, and stepped inside. Her smirk got wider and she motioned for me to sit down. At this point I had lost all sense of reason. I blame my actions on the fact that I haven't slept with a girl in months. I was thinking with my second head, if you know what I mean. Anyways, I sat down and then, holy hell, she sat in my lap and put her arms around my neck. I was completely frozen.

"Are you comfortable, Sasuke-kun?" she asked. I slowly nodded. She smiled.

"Good. I'm glad." She sort of pushed her chest towards my face and I felt my mouth go dry. I had to stop myself from flipping her over and tearing her shirt off. "You know Sasuke-kun, I knew before that you were cute, but I never knew you were this good looking."

"Um…thanks?" I said nervously.

To the eavesdroppers:

"Dammit! What the hell is Sasuke doing in there?" moaned Naruto? "He's totally letting himself get wooed by her!"

"What did we tell you?" laughed Tenten. "That girl is going to make him nothing but dust."

"Hold on, hold on. She's still talking." said Shikamaru, motioning towards the door.

Sasuke's POV:

"It's been a really long time since I've seen a guy as good looking as you. You know what it makes me want to do?" she asked, her face getting slowly closer. I've noticed that she's sort of shaking. "It makes me want to…want to…" the moment her lips made the smallest amount of contact with mine, she jumped up and ran to the other side of the cell.

"Oh, fuck it! I can't do it." She said. My mouth was wide open. You could have fit Neji's fist in it, and he's got a pretty big one. I shook my head to regain my senses.

"What the hell was that? You almost kiss me, and now you're"-

"Oh shut up!" she yelled. I stopped. I was ridiculously confused at this point.

To the eavesdroppers:

"No, no, dammit! She was so close!" groaned Ino. All the guys high-fived each other.

"Told you she couldn't beat Sasuke." Said Kiba, smirking. Ino smacked him.

"She still has a chance to turn this around." Said Temari. "Now everyone quiet."

Sakura's POV:

I was so close. So close. I had him right where I wanted him and then…I just couldn't do it. This sexy, seductive girl I'm trying to be just isn't me. Not like I'm the most innocent girl in the world (I've gone to clubs before, and had a couple drunk make out sessions with random slayers, but that's it), but I'm just not cut out for this. I'm banging my fist on the wall and I feel Sasuke come up behind me.

"What the hell is going on?" he demanded. "What are you trying to pull?"

I shook my head. "Forget it. It's just some stupid thing that we came up with to do because they thought that if I could 'seduce you' that you'd like me because I like you for some reason but I'm no good at this and can't be sexy because I'm a fighter and I can't be anything else and"- here I had to stop and take in a huge breath because I had been rambling very fast. Sasuke put his hand over my mouth before I could speak again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down and back up. What was it that you just said?" he said, eyes wide. Shit!

"All I know to do is how to fight, I can't be normal." I said, hoping he'd take it. Fat chance.

"No, before that. What did you say? Tell me what you said." He demanded, glaring at me.

"Fuck off!" I said. His glare deepened and I could feel his dark energy rising. I sighed. "Fine. FINE! I said I like you, okay?" I screamed. His eyes got as big as dinner plates. "Don't ask me why, because I don't know! I mean, you captured me, threatened my life, treated me like shit, yet you also saved my life in a way, treated me nicer, and I know you hate me and…Goddammit, just get away from me!" I cried, shoving him. He stumbled but regained his footing and walked towards me. He faced me and wiped the tears off my face. _Oh great. I'm crying again. What's wrong with me?_

"I don't hate you, Taka." He said softly. "In fact, it's quite the opposite." I looked up with my mascara-streaked eyes and stared at him.

"What?" I stammered.

"For some reason I…I feel the same way you do. I mean, your job is to assassinate my kind, and you tried to do the same to me, and yet I don't hate you. I have feelings for you that I can't explain or understand but they're there." He said.

"Do you mean that?" I asked.

"Yes." He said. My eyes welled up again. Good lord, what's wrong with me? I guess this is what they call crying with happiness. I always thought that was a bunch of bullshit. I guess not. Sasuke must have thought I was going to break down again because he quickly pulled me to him and hugged me tightly. I settled against him and breathed deeply.

Sure, this isn't going to be easy. Whatever happens, it'll be hard and we'll face some real shit. But, for now, this is all I need.

That's all! I really hope you liked it! This chapter is going to kick start the next part of the story, where some intense shit is going to happen. Hope you liked it, au revoir!


	16. Chapter 15 REUPLOADED

PLEASE READ THIS TOP PART I don't know how many people do but it's important…so for the sake of really getting the story going, I'm making a mini-time skip. This chapter takes place about a month after the last chapter. I know that may seem weird but I want to make Sasuke and Sakura's relationship really move along and I need time for that so there has been a time skip. Thank you for listening, enjoy the chapter

Chapter 15

Sakura's POV:

It's been a month since Sasuke and I entered our relationship-if that's a good word for it. I must admit, I can't remember the last time I was so, well, _happy. _When I was at the bureau, I hardly ever thought of anything besides advancing in rank. Now, I've sort of let go of all that and let myself enjoy life. For all the perverts out there, Sasuke and I haven't gone very far-just some kissing, making out here and there, and normal teenager stuff. I've been thinking though, about Tsunade, and my few friends back at the bureau. I mean, it's been a month and a half since they've heard anything from me. So tonight, I'm sneaking into the bureau to talk to Tsunade, and to tell her I'm leaving. I've decided to stay with Sasuke. Speaking of Sasuke, I'm not telling him I'm going. He'd never let me go alone. But I need to go alone.

I'm going to wait until he falls asleep-though being asleep won't be enough. I'm going to slip him a very mild sedative. Enough so that his enhanced senses won't hear me running out the door. Of course, he'll kill me when he wakes up. But I'll deal with that another time. The girls went home two weeks ago, and the other guys know what I'm going to do, and to not let Sasuke come after me if he wakes up and I'm not back yet.

I'm pulling on my black gear-just a hoodie, my normal boots, and some black pants. They're strange, but comfortable as hell. Sasuke comes in. I back into the shadows and hide.

"Taka? You in here? Guess not." Sasuke walks around. I forgot to say, I haven't told him my real name yet. That will come with time. Our relationship isn't at the point where I can tell him that yet. Anyways, Sasuke sees the glass with the sleeping potion I left for him on the table and, as I knew he would, picks it up and drinks it. His eyes widen and he stares into the glass with anger. I step out of the shadows and he looks at me with a look that says _you are so dead when I wake up_ before passing out on the bed. I moved into an extra bedroom, after adamantly refusing to sleep in his room.

After I confirm he is out cold, I walk out into the kitchen, where Neji, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Kiba are seated around the table. "He out?" asked Kiba.

"Yep. Remember: if he wakes up before I'm back, do not let him come after me, no matter what." I said. They nodded.

"How long will you be?" asked Neji.

"That potion I gave him will only last up to three hours, unless I mixed it wrong, but I should be back in no more than two." I said.

"What if this boss of yours doesn't let you leave? What if she orders you to stay and attacks you?" asked Shikamaru. Obviously, I didn't tell them her real name.

"She wouldn't do that." I said. _At least, I hope she won't. _"I'm off. See you guys later." And with that I ran out the door and began making my way through the forest, back to society. I have my dagger with me in case I run into any werewolves or banshees-those things annoy the shit out of me. I slowly make my way through the forest, into the city, and through the sewer that leads to our underground headquarters. Damn, I forgot how much it smells down here!

I reach the gate that leads to the opening of the building. I consider going through the front door but reconsider. If I was seen by anyone other than Tsunade I'd be in deep shit. So I take the scenic route-which involves another half mile of sewer hiking-and reach the outside of Tsunade's office. I quietly open the window and slip inside. I smile at the sight of Tsunade passed out on her desk, an empty sake bottle next to her. I quietly poke her. "Tsunade-sama, wake up. Wake up."

Suddenly, she jumps up and falls back in her chair, swearing. When she comes back up, she almost screams at the sight of me, but I quickly clasp my hand over her mouth. Her eyes widen and she jumps on me the minute I uncover her mouth.

"Holy shit, Sakura!" damn, I missed being called that. "You're okay! Where the fuck have you been? I've been worried _shitless! _I was so close to going out and looking for you myself! It's been over a month since we've heard of you, I was so scared you had been killed, and"-she cuts off and just hugs me, and I return it. I missed her, so much. She pulls away after a few minutes. "What happened to you? Actually, you can tell me after we get you some food and a shower, and to bed."

I bite my lip. "I'm actually…not here to stay." I said nervously.

"What? What the hell do you mean?" she demanded. I sighed.

"I'm not here to stay. Listen to me, and listen closely. I've…I've fallen in love. With Sasuke. The Vampire Prince. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I've spent this past month and a half with him, and, well, I'm in love with him. I'm leaving the bureau to stay with him. I just came to say goodbye." I said. Tsunade collapsed onto the desk, holding her head.

"Let me get this straight. You disappear for over a month, come back, say you're in love with a vampire, and tell me that you're leaving?" she said. I nodded.

"I'm sorry to spring this on you. But I couldn't go the rest of my life without you knowing. I'm not asking for you to be okay with this, or understand. But I am asking you not to label me a traitor." I said.

"Sakura, think this through. You've wanted to be a Gold Ranked Slayer since I met you. You've worked so hard, and you're so close. Do you really want to give it up, forever?" she asked, looking at me desperately. I thought for a second. She's right. I've wanted this for so long. I came so close. But when I think about my future, as dumb as it sounds, all I can see is Sasuke (QUICK NOTE: I know their feelings are moving really fast, I just want to get the plot going).

"I'm sure." I said, face completely stoic. Tsunade nodded.

"I won't make you a traitor, as requested. I'll mark you as missing, and you'll disappear. Forever. Are you okay with that? If you ever want to get back in the business, you won't be able to on a professional scale." She said. I nodded. I had tears in my eyes. I was saying goodbye to the woman who had been like my mother since I was a little girl. She saw my tears and laughed. "Someone's gotten soft, hasn't she?" she joked, but was crying herself.

She hugged me tightly, crying as I was. We pulled away and looked at each other one last time before I hopped onto the windowsill.

"Goodbye, Tsunade-sama." I said. She smiled sadly.

"Goodbye, Bloody Blossom. Goodbye, Sakura." She said. Our eyes locked for a moment, and I was gone.

The journey back to the hideout is a blur. I was crying the whole way, I know. I composed myself before I went back in, though. I was expecting to get hell from Sasuke. I opened the door. But I didn't. They were all standing around the kitchen table, staring at a piece of paper. Sasuke too. When he looked up and saw me, he didn't yell. He didn't hug me. He just handed me the paper. I read it.

_Sasuke,_

_ The rebellion has died down. It is time for you to come home. You and your friends are to leave at dawn tomorrow. Have a safe journey home, sweetie. Especially with the special prisoner I heard you have. _

_Love, Mom_

I looked at Sasuke, and he looked back at me with worried eyes.

THAT'S ALL! Oh shit, time to go meet the rents, Sakura! Teehee ^^ I hope you enjoyed this chapter! We'll be meeting Sasuke's parents and brother within the next few chapters, so be ready! All right, au reviour! Is that right? I never took French


	17. Chapter 16 REUPLOADED

Hey! :D Don't kill me, I know it's been awhile-I've been busy. But I'm here with another chapter! So, enjoy!

Chapter 16:

Sakura's POV:

Sasuke sat at the table with his head in his hands. He'd been in this position for about 15 minutes and I can't snap him out of it. I've tried shaking him, smacking him, even pretending to take my shirt of-nothing's working. I'm getting irritated, so I take a glass of ice water and dump it on him. He looks up and glares at me.

"What the hell is your problem?" he demands, eyes getting dangerously red. I stand my ground and glare back with equal fervor.

"What's wrong with _me? _Sasuke, we need to figure out what we're going to do. If you freeze up from shock, we can't exactly talk now can we?" I snapped. His eyes narrowed but he nodded.

"Alright. So, what the hell are we going to do? I have to go back and I have to take you with me, but if you go you'll be executed. Probably tortured first. My father isn't the forgiving type, and you've fucked with us a lot. How do we avoid getting you killed?" he asked. I looked at the other guys in the room? Neji and Shikamaru looked deep in though. Naruto was cleaning out his ear with his finger _(gross)_ and Kiba was picking at his fingernails.

"Well…what if you just explained the situation to your dad? He might understand, right?" asked Kiba. We all looked at him like he was crazy. I spoke before Sasuke did.

"No. I haven't met the man, but from what I've heard he's not the understanding type either. He'd probably end up killing Sasuke too." I said bitterly.

"Well, Mikoto-sama might understand. She's really nice." Naruto pointed out. Sasuke shook his head.

"Once my dad makes up his mind, it's almost impossible to change it." Sasuke said. "And he's had his mind made up about what he's going to do to you ever since he found out it was you who killed Satoru, his advisor." He said to me.

I grinned. That guy was such a pussy. Didn't even try to fight back. Just sat there whimpering. Almost made me feel sorry for the guy. Almost.

"We need to go about this very carefully." Neji said. "If we just storm in protesting that she's not all bad, we'll all get fucked over. We need a plan to reel Fugaku-sama in and convince him to not kill her."

"Well how do we do that, Mr. Know-it-all?" asked Naruto. Neji narrowed his eyes at him.

"I mean, maybe we do introduce her as a prisoner-at first." He said. He looked at me. "How well can you play the poor-misunderstood-confused-orphan role?" he asked.

"Pretty well. Used it on a lot of missions." I said. He nodded.

"I suggest we play that angle then. In reality, you're a hard-ass slayer who doesn't take shit from anybody. You're going to appear as a young girl who's just confused, and only did what she did to survive. You didn't mean it, and just want to go home." He said.

"That's going to be an awfully hard thing to pull off, considering all she's done." Shikamaru said.

"Well, that can just be at first." Sasuke said. "If that works, and we convince my parents to keep her around, we can work on getting them-or my mother at least-to like her. Then break the news, and see how they take it."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" asked Kiba. Sasuke shrugged.

"Your _brother._" Naruto said. Sasuke cursed.

Sasuke's POV:

Fuck me. I totally forgot about Itachi. He's about as anti-Taka as my father, because she slayed one of his friends a few years back. Then again, Hidan was a pain in the ass, so nobody really misses him. Still, that really pissed off Itachi.

"We'll have to be even more careful with him than my father." I said.

"Hang on. I had a brief encounter with your brother once-about three years ago. He didn't seem so bad then." Taka said.

"That was before you killed one of his friends." I sighed. Taka frowned.

"But if we can convince Mikoto-sama that she's ok, that should be enough. Itachi may be tough but he's scared of your mother when she's angry just like we all are." Said Kiba.

"Okay, okay, let's just finalize what we're going to do so we can go to bed." said Shikamaru. We nodded and began planning.

_Later that night_

Everyone's gone to bed, and we're leaving at dawn tomorrow for home. But first, I need to talk to Taka. I need to know what's going to happen with, well _us, _if things don't go as we hoped. Plus, it's about damn time I learned her real name. I knock on her door and I hear footsteps and she opens it, rubbing her eyes.

"Damn Sasuke, do you know what time it is?" she groaned. I nodded.

"I really need to talk to you. Can I come in?" I asked. She nods and I enter the room and she closes and locks the door.

"Force of habit." She said. "So what's up?" she sat down on the bed, and I sat down next to her.

"Well it's just-there's no guarantee that everything's going to go according to plan. And I just want to know what might happen in case it, well, doesn't." I said. She looked at me with serious eyes.

"What do you mean, Sasuke?" she asked, fully awake now.

"Well, what if it doesn't work, and you're scheduled to be executed?" I asked.

"Then…well, we've done all we could do at that point. I'll just…die." She said. I grabbed her hand and glared at her.

"Shut up. Don't you _ever _talk like that. I'd never let you die. I was going to wonder if you'd break out of jail on your own or if I'd help." I said. The fact that she'd just accept death and leave me…

"No, Sasuke. I wouldn't let you betray your country just for me. Why would you even consider doing something like that?" she said.

"Because I love you." As the words left my mouth, I realized how true they were. I loved her. I know it was fast, and that we're the world's most unlikely pair, but I really love her. With every part of me. "And I wouldn't let you die."

Her eyes filled with tears. "But…Sasuke…your family. You'd abandon them just for me?" she asked.

"Yes." I said, kissing her hand. "I would do anything for you."

She started to cry and I pulled her to me, hugging her tightly.

"But what if it doesn't work out?" she asked, her face buried in my chest.

I rubbed her back. "We'll work something out. I promise Taka, nothing will ever come between us. Ever." I said, and I kissed the top of her head and I felt her smile against my chest. Then she broke away from me, put her mouth to my ear, and whispered one word.

"Sakura."

That's the end! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :D I tried to make the ending super dramatic, hope it worked :P I hate asking, but please leave a few reviews. I want to know if you like where the story is going. Thanks for reading, and until next time, adieu!


	18. Irritation

SORRY THIS IS JUST A REALLY QUICK QUESTION

So when I was looking over this story I saw that for some reason, chapter 15 (the one titled chapter 15 not what the website has labeled as chapter 15) is showing up as another story I wrote rather than the actual chapter. Can someone take a look and let me know if it's showing up like that for them too? It might just be my computer fucking with me but I'm not sure. I don't know why it would be like that but I'm suspicious so please tell me if it's just my computer or if it's like that for you too.

Thanks and sorry! And I'll try to have a new chapter up within the next couple of weeks :D


	19. Chapter 17

Heyyyy :D Here's another chapter for you! I finally got the chapter 15 problem solved…idk why the hell it did that but I nearly punched a hole in the wall from frustration because I had to delete and reupload my other story -_-. Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 17

Sasuke's POV:

"Sakura."

As soon as I heard that, I pulled away and stared at her with what was most likely a very idiotic expression on my face. "Wha…what did you say?" I asked weakly.

Her eyes bore into mine. "Sakura. That's my name. Sakura Haruno." She said, smiling.

No way. Did she really just…? Wow. I had discarded my original plan of demanding she tell me, and now…damn, this is some good karma.

"Sakura?" I asked. She nodded. "Now _that _suits you." I said, playing with some of her hair. She laughed and swatted my hand away. "Why did you tell me?"

"I never told you before because I wasn't sure how much I could trust you…even when you admitted to liking me I had my doubts. But when you told me that you loved me, well, I realized that I can and will trust you with my life. And in this situation, my name is my life. I love you, and I didn't want to keep anything else from you." She said, holding my hand. I smiled and leaned into her and kissed her. After a few seconds I pulled back.

"Get some rest. We're leaving at dawn and we'll need to be fully alert." I said. She nodded and kissed my forehead.

"I love you." She said.

"I love you too, Sakura." I said, and she smiled and left. (A LITTLE MUSHY I KNOW, BUT I KNOW YOU LOVE IT ;D)

Sakura's POV:

I told him. I told him. Oh god, don't let me regret that. While I have no doubt that Sasuke will keep my secret, and that I can trust him with anything, trusting people in the past has always come back to bite me in the ass. I'm not used to trusting people like I trust him. But there's something in me that says that no matter what, he'll never betray me. At least, I really hope not.

_The next morning_

Everything was set. My hands were chained in front of me, and Neji would be pulling me along by a chain so I would appear as a real prisoner. I was to, at all times, act like a pitiful, sad, lost orphan who was so confused. A.k.a., my opposite. There's a bag over my head; we don't want people seeing who I am and flipping their shit. My identity will be revealed only when we get to the Sharingan Palace, which is about half a day's journey from here (if we take a couple of illegal routes that Kiba knows of).

"Everyone ready?" asked Shikamaru. Everyone nodded and he turned around. "Good. Let's get going then."

"Wait." I said. They all turned to look at me. "I…I just want to thank you guys for all you're doing for me. I mean, it's a pretty nice thing to do for someone, you know?" I said lamely. Naruto smiled.

"Don't worry Taka, we got your back!" he said gleefully. For safety purposes, my true name will still be concealed from all of them-only Sasuke will know for now. I will as well be introduced as Takako to the king and queen as well.

"Thanks." I said, and they nodded and we began walking.

It's a tedious journey-constantly watching our backs, making sure no bandits or banshees are coming at us. Making sure that all of my trademark pink hair is concealed. And ho damn, it was stuffy under that bag. It's about 85 degrees outside, and having my face stuffed into some scratchy old rice bag wasn't doing much to help. We did have a moment of excitement though; right outside the village that leads to the kingdom, we ran into a group of bandits. Nothing dangerous of course, just a group of about 8 idiots with rusty swords trying to take our money.

So we're walking along this dusty trail about to enter the village that leads to the gate of the kingdom when a group of guys jumps out at us doing some ridiculous war cry, holding old-ass swords they probably won in a card game. A scrawny guy with a mask on, probably the leader, stepped towards us.

"Listen kiddies, just give us your money and cooperate, and we won't hurt any of you, okay?" he said, brandishing his sword. I could tell Sasuke was probably rolling his eyes.

"And give us that girl, too! The one with the bag over her head!" said this one guy who sounded like a disgusting drunk. I twitched. I felt Sasuke step in front of me.

"I suggest you assholes make yourselves scarce before you do something you regret." said Neji calmly. I could feel Sasuke seething and since I couldn't put my hand on his shoulder to tell him to calm the hell down, I laid my head on his shoulder instead. He got the message and took a breath.

"Who the hell do you think you are, telling us what to do? Do you want to get your ass cut?" asked a bandit.

"Take this bag off." I whispered to Sasuke. He understood what I meant and took it off, revealing my face and my hair, which the vampire world identifies me with.

"Now, what was that about cutting someone's ass?" I said, looking at them with a glare that has made the toughest, evilest vampires shit their pants. They all gaped.

"N-nothing! Nothing at all! Don't slay us!" begged the leader, sobbing, and bowing to me. The rest followed suit and bowed. I rolled my eyes and spit at them.

"Get your sorry asses out of here." I said coldly. They stood up and hauled ass back to the sorry shitholes from whence they came. Then I smiled. "Shall we continue?" I asked in a sweet tone. Naruto and Kiba were shaking in fear, and even Neji and Sasuke seemed a bit spooked.

"I hope I never have to be on the receiving end of that glare." muttered Shikamaru. I shrugged and groaned as the bag was once again placed over my head.

"I know it sucks, but not much longer. We'll be there in a couple hours." Sasuke said, rubbing my back.

"Hey, enough with the PDA." hissed Kiba. "We're almost at the kingdom dumbass, you don't want people seeing you getting friendly with the Bloody Blossom."

I felt Sasuke step forward, probably to punch him, but I stopped him (as best I could with my hands bound). "He's right Sasuke. Remember, as far as anyone's concerned, I'm the enemy." I said.

"Alright, S-Taka." He said, catching himself. Nobody but Shikamaru seemed to notice his mistake, and he looked at us curiously, but didn't say anything.

Sasuke's POV:

Fuck, I almost gave away Sakura's real name. It's still weird for me, calling her Sakura, since I've been calling her Takako all this time. But Sakura definitely suits her. Still, I need to be more careful. I mean, it's not like I don't trust these guys, but Naruto and Kiba are biggest blabbermouths I know, and can't keep a secret. But none of them seem to notice as far as I can tell, so I let it go and we keep walking.

As we leave the village and approach the giant gates that lead to the kingdom, I'm feeling more and more nervous. What if something goes wrong? No, calm down Sasuke. Don't jinx yourself.

We reach the gates and a guy with a staff in a fancy uniform greets us. "Ah, Master Sasuke and friends. Their Royal Highness are expecting you and your prisoner." He said, gesturing to me. Sakura hangs her head and trembles as if she's scared. As if. "I shall open the gates and escort you to the castle." He said, and he bows and leaves.

I quickly turn to Sakura and ask "You ready?" She hesitates and nods. The gates open and we both exhale and slowly walk forward.

That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed this chapter :-) I'll try to have one up by next Monday, but I have finals coming up so we'll see. Enjoy the weekend and happy almost Cinco de Mayo!


	20. Chapter 18

Hi! Sorry it's been quite a while-I wrote a one-shot a week ago or so and then ran out of mojo but now I've got more! (Plus I need something to do while I'm waiting for the Walking Dead to load-if you haven't seen it I highly recommend it) So here you go, enjoy!

Chapter 18

Sasuke's POV:

It's weird being back home. Walking through the village and up to the castle that I call home reminded me that there is in fact a world outside that underground hideout I spent the last month and a half in, and I sadly have to be a part of it. It was kind of nice being away-no responsibilities, no worries-just easy living, and being with Sakura. Now I have to face reality which is, in fact, a bitch. People had different reactions to me returning. Some were applauding, some looked nervous, and I saw a couple girls that I had hooked up with before start fixing themselves up. As if I would give them the time of day again, especially now.

I could feel Sakura getting more and more tense as we got closer to the castle. Once we reached the bottom of the hill that had the castle on top, she pretty much stopped breathing altogether. I slapped her back and whispered "Breathe. We'll be okay. I promise I'll protect you. Calm down." She nodded and exhaled. We began the long trek up the hill.

"Ok, I'll be the bastard to say it. What if they just shoot her down the moment they take the bag off her head?" asked Kiba. "Wouldn't be unlike them, as she's fucked us over quite a few times."

Sakura froze at this. I could tell that she hadn't thought of that, and truthfully, neither had I. She began to shake. I didn't know Sakura could even get scared. She always seemed so fearless to me.

"Because, idiot, if they're going to kill her, they're going to make a public show out of it. They won't just kill her and call it done. They'll bring her out to the village square, make some stupid speech, and then cut off her head and present it to the crowd." said Shikamaru calmly

Sakura's POV:

Wow, did he honestly just say that? Talk as if my potential decapitation was nothing more than a mere annoyance to him? Or something that wouldn't affect him in any way at all? Gee, thanks.

"That makes me feel so much better." I mumbled under the bag. I heard about three different _shush! _sounds and grimaced.

"Shikamaru's right. They'll want to suck all the publicity they can out of it." said Neji. "Maybe torture her in front of the whole village or something."

I was really getting pissed off at this point. They're talking about me possibly being killed like they don't even give a shit. True we're not best friends or anything, but they could at least take into consideration that I'm fucking scared and don't want to hear what they're saying. Sasuke seemed to key in on that I was getting irritated.

"Shut up, you dicks. Stop talking like that, you're freaking her out." He said. I could have kissed him, but that probably would have given us away.

"Yeah, stop being such asses. Taka's cool, I don't want her to die. Plus, imagine how the girls would react if we let her get killed." said Naruto. A shudder ran through all of them. Even I got slightly scared at the thought, but it was also comforting.

I was starting to breathe heavily-this was one huge ass hill and I haven't had any proper exercise (what I consider proper is what other considers overexertion) in weeks. Sasuke noticed and whispered "We're almost there, just a little further. The incline is becoming less steep." I nodded and sucked it up.

Once we finally reached the top, I was winded and ready to pass out. Even the others seemed a bit tired too-save Sasuke, who probably made that trek every day. I took a deep breath and stood up straight, ready to be a proud slayer, but Neji shook his head.

"I see what you're about to do, Takako-san, and you can't. Remember, you have to act like a naïve, innocent, lost orphan girl who really doesn't know anything that's going on. If you go in there with an I'm-a-slayer-motherfucker-and-I'll-kill-your-ass attitude then you're screwed." He said. Dammit, I forgot about that. I sighed and hung my head and sniffled a few times. Neji looked shocked. "Whoa, whoa, I didn't mean to"- I cut him off.

"I'm acting the part, idiot." I shot at him. He looked dumbfounded but quickly recovered and nodded. The other guys snickered and I can imagine that Neji glared daggers at them. As we approached the enormous door that led to the castle, Sasuke held me back. Quickly looking around to make sure nobody was watching, he hugged me and then put his hands on my shoulders.

"Look at me Sakura. Everything's going to be alright. Ok? I won't let them take you away from me; I promise." He said. "Nobody will take you away from me, ever." I really sniffled this time and flung my arms around him without thinking. I pulled back quickly when I realized my mistake, but nobody seemed to notice.

"Okay." I whispered. "I'm ready."

HEY I'M REALLY SORRY BUT I'M STOPPING IT THERE. It's super short I know but I really wanted to post something. Next chapter you get to meet the parents, so stay tuned! That chapter will be extra long, promise. Adios, amihos!


	21. Chapter 19

Heeeeeey :D ARE YOU EXCITED? TIME TO MEET THE PARENTS BIATCH! This will be an extra long chapter, as promised, so please enjoy!

Oh, I guess I should do that stupid disclaimer shit. I don't own Naruto, obviously

Chapter 19

Sakura's POV:

My heart is pounding, about to burst straight through my chest. I don't know if I'm ready to face Sasuke's parents, but I have to. Neji and Kiba open the enormous palace doors, and I stop breathing. Sasuke notices and quickly thumps me in the back to get me to breathe. I take in a large breath as we walk forward.

I can somewhat see through this bag-it's an enormous room, with pillars and drapes and all that fancy shit that you can imagine a castle having. Marble floors, beautiful stained glass window art, the Sharingan Coat of Arms, and portraits of past rulers on the wall. And there, at the back of the room, was King Fugaku and Queen Mikoto. Fugaku looked stern and irritated, and Mikoto looked kind. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the pair. Mikoto stood up and smiled as we got closer. When Sasuke got to the foot of the platforms where the thrones were, she hugged him warmly.

"I'm so glad you're home, dear. I missed you. You better have been taking care of yourself, young man." She said sternly, poking him in the stomach.

Sasuke patted her back and sighed. "Yes mother, I've been taking care of myself just fine. I'm not a child." Wow, he's so rude to his mother! Well not rude per say, but I certainly would have never gotten away with speaking to my mother like that.

"Show your mother a bit more respect, son." said Fugaku, shooting Sasuke a hard look. I felt more than saw Sasuke roll his eyes.

"So…this is the captured prisoner?" asked Mikoto, gesturing to me. Sasuke nodded.

"She tried breaking into the hideout to assassinate me, but she was of course captured." Sasuke said. "Neji incapacitated her, and we kept her locked up."

"Thank you, Neji." said Mikoto, patting Neji on the shoulder. Neji nodded stiffly, probably not liking her patting him like a child. He took this moment to leave, and the others followed him.

"So who is she?" asked Fugaku, glaring at my covered head. In normal circumstances, I would have glared right back and probably flipped him off. But here, I just hung my head in 'shame' and shifted my feet nervously.

"Well Father, I am happy to tell you, after years of constant hunting and failure, we have finally captured"-he took the bag off my head, revealing me to the whole room "the Bloody Blossom." He finished. Everyone in the room gasped. Even Fugaku seemed to be at a loss for words. Mikoto looked at me curiously. I was making the most pitiful face possible, complete with sniffling and looking around nervously with wide eyes, as if I had never been more terrified. Feh, as if.

"My goodness. It's really the Bloody Blossom. I can't believe it." said Fugaku's new advisor, Mitsuru. I almost had to kill him too, but I ended up giving that job to someone else.

"This is certainly quite an accomplishment." said Fugaku, looking at me curiously. I looked away. I could see his eyes beginning to turn red, a trait of the royal family that I've never particularly liked. "Amazing. Look at her, cowering in fear. After all she's done, you think she'd have some backbone. But she's just a frightened little girl. She certainly doesn't live up to her reputation." He said. My eyes burned with fury for a second but I let it pass. How dare this fucker tell me I have no backbone? I should just abandon this little charade and kill him right now! I should-no, calm down Sakura. Don't let him get to you.

"She was a nuisance at the beginning, but once we restrained her for a while, she slowly broke down into nothing but a quivering little girl." Sasuke said. I had to remind myself that he was only doing this for show to keep from throttling him.

"Try to be a bit more polite, won't you both?" asked Mikoto, shooting them both glares. "She may be a slayer, but she's still a person." She said. Bless her heart. Mikoto, I swear never to ever try to kill you should I begin wreaking havoc on this damned castle.

"She's the most deadly, famous slayer there is! How can you ask me to show manners towards someone who has killed so many of our kind?" bellowed Fugaku, completely appalled. He turned towards me. "So, Bloody Blossom, what do you have to say for yourself?" he asked. I put as much fear into my expression as possible.

"I, um, I…I…well…" I stammered.

"Out with it!" Fugaku roared. I felt Sasuke tense up beside me.

"I didn't mean any of it! I was just confused. I mean, the slayers took me in and gave me a home; I didn't like doing the things I did, but I h-had to! I never liked it, and always felt so bad. But I had to do it in order to have a place to stay." I said, tearing up, my lower lip quivering. If anyone out there is good at bullshitting being a whiner, it's me.

"Dear, why don't you take it easy on her? Look at her, she's terrified." said Mikoto.

"Oh, I can assure you she's not at all terrified." said a voice from the distance. I know that voice…

Sasuke's POV:

Fuck. Fuck. Fucking shit hell bitch shit hell fucking bitch. It's Itachi. Dammit all to hell! The one person who can blow this whole operation out of the water. Shit. Itachi definitely isn't a fan of Sakura. I hope she can keep herself calm, or we're in serious trouble.

"I see you're back, Sasuke. I'm surprised you made it here without the Bloody Blossom killing you." He said, smirking at me. I glared at him, my eyes flashing red. _Calm down Sasuke, getting mad won't help you now. And it definitely won't help Sakura. So calm your tits. Wait…what did I just say? Oh Jesus Christ, never mind. _

"Yep, just got home. What's it to you?" I shot back, with a bit more venom in my voice than I should have had, but whatever.

"Well I just find it interesting that you either a)can't notice that this bitch is lying through her teeth or b)are lying to help her." He said, giving me an evil eye. Father looked at me sharply at that.

"What does he mean by that, Sasuke?" he barked.

"I have no idea; he's out of his mind. I'm not lying, and look at her. Do you think anyone can lie that well? Besides, what evidence do you have to support that she's lying?" I asked, trying to keep my cool.

"Oh please, cut the crap." said Itachi. He looked over at Sakura, who was having a hard time keeping her poor-little-girl act; I can tell she wanted to rip Itachi's balls off. At the moment, so do I. "I've had a previous encounter with this girl, and I can tell you that the slayer I saw then was much, much different than the one I see now." He said.

"What are you talking about, Itachi?" asked Mom.

"Well, I encountered this girl about a year or two ago, after she had killed Hidan. She wasn't standing over him, crying in remorse as she says she does. She was standing _on_ him, laughing, calling him a 'little bitch'"-at which time my Mom said "language!"-"and I believe she also spit on his body." He finished, glaring at Sakura.

"So you're saying she's putting on an act?" asked Father. Dumbass, of course that's what he's saying. But I'm glad he doesn't understand.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I don't know if Sasuke's too stupid to see it or is in on it, but either way he needs psychological testing." Itachi said, grinning evilly at me. I gave him my dirtiest look, and of course he just laughed. Prick.

"Why do you think I'd lie to help her? She's the #1 most wanted." I shot back.

"So you wouldn't mind if we just executed her right now?" he said, baring his fangs in Sakura's direction. I felt her freeze. _Shit. I need to do something. _Thankfully, Mom came to the rescue.

"Itachi, I know you're still upset over your friend's death, but we really have no way of knowing if she's lying or not. I think we should hold off on any kinds of executions until we can get the real story." She said. Thank god for Mom; no way Father can say no to that. Itachi, on the other hand, won't be so forgiving. He won't go down so easily.

"Why shouldn't I just kill her now? We're going to kill her anyways, why not just get it over with?" he growled. Mom turned to Itachi, and he instantly froze.

"Because I said so, and you will not talk back to me again young man, is that clear?" she asked. Itachi nodded nervously and Mom smiled. "Good." She said. "Now, how about I escort her to the prison hold?"

"I'll do it." I said immediately. They all looked at me. "If she tries to attack, no offense Mom, but I think I can handle her a bit better than you can." I said, trying to cover up my mistake. She nodded.

"The nicer one if you please Sasuke; she looks like she's been through an awful lot." She said. I nodded and too Sakura's arm. I saw Father giving me a strange look out of the corner of his eye, but I let it go.

"Come on, let's go." I said harshly, and dragged her out of the room. We walked through the castle and into the basement, where we keep the prisoners. I gave her the nicer cell-as nice as you could get, anyways.

"He knows. We're done for." Sakura whispered. I shushed her. I can tell that Itachi isn't too far away from here, and I don't need him overhearing anything. I looked around the room quickly before turning back to her and giving her a quick kiss.

"I'm going to go get the servants to bring you some food and then talk to my Mom, okay? If I'm not back tonight I will be tomorrow morning." I said. She nodded and I gave her another kiss before leaving the basement. I closed the door when I exited and saw Itachi heading for it. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Just going to go make our guest feel welcome." He said. He gave me a dirty look. "I know you're up to something." He said, and then entered the basement. I walked away, mentally murdering Itachi.

Sakura's POV:

That probably could have gone a lot better than it did. At least Mikoto-san seems to be on my side. I wish Sasuke was here though…_shit, who's coming down here?_ I quickly curled up into a ball and put my head between my knees. When I felt a shadow loom over me I said "Hello?" nervously.

"Cut the bullshit." I heard a voice say. Shit. Itachi. "I know that little poor-frightened-girl stuff back there was just an act." He said, glaring at me. I looked up.

"Why would you say something like that?" I asked. He leaned down and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"You may have my mother and idiotic brother fooled, but don't think for one second that you've got me buying your stupid charade. I'll be watching you-_closely._" He said, and with that he left, leaving me to ponder his words.

I'm in some deep shit.

That's all! Hope it was as intense as you expected! Thanks for reading :D


	22. Chapter 20

HEY HAPPY SUMMER BREAK BITCHES! That's right, it's summer vacation (for me at least), which means more frequent updates (hopefully-I've acquired a social life lately so perhaps not teehee). And I would also like to apologize for my extended absence; I had no internet for like a week and couldn't upload anything so I'm sorry D: But for now, here's a new chapter!

Chapter 20:

Sasuke's POV:

Damn Itachi, being such a smartass. That douchebag thinks he knows everything, doesn't he? Well Sakura and I are going to have to be ridiculously careful-if he catches us doing anything it's over and my ass will be on it's way to the Holy Chamber (that's where we take vampires to be executed-it sprays you with holy water), and Sakura's to the guillotine. Step one of getting Sakura's ass out of the shit it's in is talking to my mom. Maybe seeing if she can convince Dad to trust Sakura. I don't know how in the hell I'll manage to do _that, _but what the hell, it's the only idea I've got, even if it is a shitty one.

I walk up to my Mom's study and knock on the door. I hear a 'come in' and open the door to find Mom pouring over some book bigger than my head. She turns and looks at me. "What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked.

"Nothing Mom, I just wanted to talk to you about something." I said. She looked at me with a curious expression. I don't blame her-when was the last time I came to casually chat with her? Never.

"Of course. What about?"

"About the Bloody Blossom."

"You mean your girlfriend?"

My jaw hit the floor at this. Did she just say…?

"What are you talking about, Mom? I don't have a girlfriend, and if I did, it certainly wouldn't be that awful woman." I said, trying to look and sound absolutely repulsed. She laughed. Dammit.

"Oh please Sasuke, don't pull that with me. I know there's something going on between you two. It's as plain as day." She said, shaking her head. At least she's not ripping my head off. Still, I should keep denying.

"Where would you get a ludicrous idea like that?" I sneered. She gave me that don't-you-talk-to-me-in-that-tone look and I immediately humbled up. Yes, the fearless Uchiha Sasuke, vampire prince/ex-manwhore, is scared of his mother.

"Sasuke, I am a woman. We notice things that men don't. I noticed how you looked at her, how you were very gentle with her when taking her to the dungeons, how she didn't look at all dirty or scratched when she got here but rather pretty clean, and how her eyes lit up when she looked at you." She said. "You're either into her or have gotten rather soft these past weeks."

Leave it to my mother to be able to see right through me. "Well, Sasuke? Are you going to fess up or what?"

I sighed. Might as well come clean. She doesn't look mad, and if she's just hiding it, well I think I can outrun her. "Alright, alright, you caught me. There is something going on between the Bloody Blossom and me." I said. I waited for the explosion; it didn't come. She just smiled. I relaxed a little, but not too much. When I couldn't take the silence anymore, I said "Well? Are you going to say something? Kill me?"

She shook her head. "No Sasuke, I'm not going to kill you." She said, still smiling.

"Well what then? Are you mad?" I asked.

She shook her head again. "I'm not mad. A bit surprised, sure, but not mad. How could I be? You two look like you're ridiculously in love. If that made me angry, I'd be the worst mother in the world, wouldn't I? No, I'm not angry. Just rather confused on how this came to be." She said. As soon as she said it, I felt like the world had been lifted off of my shoulders. _She's not mad. She's not mad. Thank fucking god._

"I'll tell you the whole story later. Right now, there's something really important I need to talk to you about." I said.

"Let me guess: you want me to convince your father that she's completely harmless and we shouldn't kill her or interrogate her or anything, but keep her here for a while until we can find out what we should do with her." She said. Stunned, I nodded. She shook her head sadly. "I don't know, sweetie. While I could certainly try, you know your father. He's the most stubborn man in the world, and dead-set in how he feels about her. And your brother would be a problem too-he hates her as much as, if not more than, your father."

"There must be something we can do! I mean, she can only keep up that innocent-orphan act for so long." I said, and then immediately wished I hadn't. I don't know if I should trust anyone with _that_ particular secret.

"Well, she's done a good job with it so far, but your father is barely buying it, and your brother isn't at all. She might as well drop it altogether." She said. I shook my head.

"That won't do her any good. Listen, Mom, can you at least try? I'll make sure that Itachi isn't there when you do." I pleaded. She was silent for a moment, and then sighed.

"Alright Sasuke, I'll try. Tomorrow morning, and I don't want Itachi anywhere near the room when I'm talking to your father. Can you manage that much?" she asked.

"I can. Thanks, Mom." I said. I turned to leave but felt her hand on my shoulder. "What?"

"I'm going to talk to her. I'm not asking your permission f.y.i., but telling you. I want to know how she feels about all this." She said. I thought about it. I don't know if I want my Mom talking to her, but I guess I don't have a choice.

"Fine." I sighed. "Just be careful how loud you talk. If someone overhears something we're screwed." I said.

"Oh, don't you worry about me, Sasuke. I know exactly what to say." She said, and then walked out of the room. Oh god.

That's all for now! I know it's short, but I really wanted to get something up since I haven't in so long. Thanks for reading :D


	23. Chapter 21

Hey there :D I'm so sorry that this took so long. I was going to finish this and then upload it last week but I forgot and then was in Oregon so I had no time D: But hopefully this chapter is worth the wait!

Chapter 21

Sakura's POV:

You know, this plan to make Sasuke's parents love me so we could all live happily ever after and shit sounded great at first, but now, I'm starting to have second thoughts. It's not like I expected things to work out within five minutes of getting here or anything-bitch please-but with the way things are looking right now, maybe we should have taken a different course of action. _Besides, now that I really think about it, the chances that it will work are nearly zero. I mean-no, no, stop this shit now, Sakura! Have faith in Sasuke. He'll do right by you. He promised._

I'm busy battling with my mind when I hear footsteps coming down the stairs, towards my cell. I wait a moment and then a figure comes into the light and it's-holy shit-_Mikoto-sama?_

She smiles down at me and says "Hello, dear. I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you down some food." I'm staring at her as if I'm waiting for her to suddenly skewer me with a spear. She may have been nice when I first met her, but hey, I can't honestly trust hardly anybody now can I? "What's your name, by the way?"

"W-what?" I stammered. Out of all the questions, that was not what I was expecting.

"Your name. I'm assuming that you have a name, of course." She said.

"Right." I shook my head to clear it. "It's…Takako." Back to fake names again.

"For a fake name, it sure is a lovely one." She said, smiling still. Now _that _hit me like a sock to the face with a steel glove (that's happened to me once before-it took me a full month to recover and hot damn it hurt like a motherfucker). She takes in my stunned expression and laughs "Come now, it must be fake. If I was you I certainly wouldn't tell me my real name. But the one you chose is lovely, so we'll stick with it."

I nodded stiffly. "So what exactly do you want from me, Mikoto-sama?" I asked.

"I don't want to beat around the bush, so I'll just come out with it and say that I know about this whole thing between you and Sasuke, and what you plan to do." She said. Forget the steel-gloved punch to the face; this is more like the time I had four vamps bite me at the same time and start sucking away-that was one of the very, very few times I thought I would honestly die. I came damn close, too. Even today I still swear that I saw Mom and Dad waving at me in Heaven before the vamps were ripped off me by slayers who had come to my rescue and I came to my senses.

"What plan? What thing between me and him? There are no such things." I said. She laughed lightly.

"Sasuke replied in the same way. All denial, until he eventually gave in and told me about it. It really wasn't hard to sense that there was some connection between you two, dear." She said. "And since I know you'll ask, I'm not angry about it. Rather, I'm happy that Sasuke can finally stop being such a-please excuse my language-ho."

She said that all kind of fast and I had to take a few seconds to wrap my head around what she said. She knows, but isn't mad and is in fact happy about it. "Okay, but what about trying to save me from being executed. Where exactly do you stand on that?" I asked.

"I have discussed it with Sasuke and I am going to try to convince my husband to see your better side so he won't kill you too soon or anything. With time, perhaps we can convince him to let you go; for now though, we have to focus on postponing your execution. We don't have a date or anything yet, but it will be very soon if something is not done." She said, looking at me with a serious expression. I, however, had a question…

"If I may ask, and I'm definitely not complaining or anything, but why are you so okay with this? I mean, statistics show that I've killed of nearly an eighth of the vampire population, and you're happy about me hooking up with your son? Forgive me; I just don't see the logic in it." I said. I mean, I was confused as hell. If I was her, I'd want to pull all of my hairs out one by one, braid them, and then strangle me with it.

"Well, originally I was surprised, maybe even a little angry, but then I saw the changes in my son. The way he acted, talked, and carried himself. I saw that whatever he has with you has truly changed him for the better. Maybe it was a bit…bizarre, and yes, you have killed hundreds of our kind, but I couldn't be mad at you after seeing Sasuke." She said. I nodded.

"I have to say, I'm relieved that you're not angry. But now we have to talk about this plan of Sasuke's, and I want to ask if I can maybe confide in you, and you won't tell Sasuke what I say." I said. She paused for a moment and nodded.

"I…I'm not quite sure this whole plan will work anymore. At the time, coming up with it, it seemed like such a good idea that would surely work. But now, seeing how much Fugaku-sama and Itachi-sama hate me, it seems like it's not going to work." I pause. "Sure, I love Sasuke more than anything, but I'd rather just die and let him move on with his life than risking getting us both killed. I don't know how easy it would be for Sasuke to move on with someone else, and maybe I don't like the thought of him doing so, but I'd be willing to let him if it meant he could live. Even if I had to die." I wiped away the damned tears that had formed in my eyes. I've become so soft-something I really dislike. "Sasuke said that he would rather fight and maybe die than just let me accept my fate and be executed, but I just couldn't have him die for my worthless existence. Not when he could one day become so great. To see it thrown away for me, an ex-slayer with nothing to offer him…I'd never forgive myself."

At this point, I'm hunched over, sobbing, my back bucking and chest heaving with uncontrollable sobs. I've been thinking all this for a long time, but to actually hear it out loud is so unbearable. I feel a hand placed gently on my shoulder and another under my chin, and that hand lifts my face, and my eyes meet Mikoto-sama's.

"Do not say such things, ever. It would break Sasuke's heart to see you die. He is willing to do anything, _anything_, for you to be able to live. He will fight until his last breath for you. He loves you, and only wants what's best for you. Neither he nor I consider your existence worthless." She says. More tears spill out of my eyes and I pathetically hang my head for a moment before looking up again.  
>"I just don't see how there is any hope for the situation. But…you're right. Sasuke loves me, and we will make it through this, somehow." I said. She smiles and pulls a handkerchief out of her pocket and hands it to me, and I use it to wipe my face.<p>

"It's settled. Tomorrow morning, I shall call on my husband and try to convince him to postpone your execution. Meanwhile, discuss courses of action with Sasuke, just in case things don't go as planned." She said. I nodded.

"Listen, Mikoto-sama, you have no idea how much I app"- I stop. I feel a presence all of the sudden. A cold one. Fearing the worst, I slowly turn my head towards the entrance to the cell hold. There's a figure standing in the doorway-and I can sense its energy. It's furious. Mikoto-sama looks as well and swears softly, for she knows who it is in the doorway, as do I. Hard to mistake those bloody red eyes and handsome face that bears so much resemblance to Sasuke's. That long, black hair too, tied back in a ponytail.

We also know that he heard the entirety of our conversation.

That's all for this chapter! I know it's been sort of boring these last few chapters, just a bunch of talking, so next chapter there's going to be a fight! The end is coming soon…not too many chapters left. I tried to make the end of this chapter as dramatic as possible, hopefully it worked. Until next time, au revior!


	24. Chapter 22

Hey there! So this chapter is really the beginning of the end…there won't be too many left after this, so I'm going to try to make it as amazing and badass as possible. Gotta channel my inner Asami Sato (Avatar reference, for all you poor souls who don't watch it and don't understand). Enjoy the chapter! And please excuse the shitty fight scene, I can't write them worth shit, but I tried :P

Chapter 22

Sakura's POV:

Fuck. Fuck. Motherfucking _fuck. _Itachi knows. He knows about everything. How the hell could I have been so careless? I've single-handedly (well not really) blown this whole thing to pieces, and pretty much sealed Sasuke and my fates. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! Your carelessness is going to get you, and worse Sasuke, killed! Fix this _now_!_

Suddenly Itachi bolts, and I know where he's going. I turn to Mikoto.

"Mikoto-sama! I know it's not what you should do, but please, let me out of here! Itachi's going to go after Sasuke, and I can't just do nothing! Please, let me out. I have to help." I pleaded, my eyes big. I'm used to using puppy eyes-I used them all the time back at the bureau in order to get Tsunade to let me use the big weapons that weighed as much as I do. She considers it for a moment, then nods.

"Ok. Go help Sasuke. Be careful." She said, unlocking my shackles. Before I stand, however, she gives me a kiss on the forehead. "Be safe." She says. I give her a nod of thanks, open the cell door, and bolt up the stairs. I pulled my secret dagger out of my hair-it's a clip that, when you press the red button, extends into a sword dipped in holy water.

_Sasuke, wait for me!_

Sasuke's POV:

I'm sitting in my room, thinking about what I'm going to do if Dad won't listen to Mom and decides to execute Sakura tomorrow or anytime soon. No way could I single-handedly take on Itachi, Dad, and all the vamps that want to see her die-which is pretty much the entire kingdom population. But maybe, with Neji, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Kiba's help, we could help her escape. But I can't ask them to risk that much for me, or her. Especially not Naruto. He's engaged to Hinata, and if he died…well, I just can't do that. Maybe if-

**BAM. **My door is kicked down. I turn around with an expression of anger on my face to find Itachi staring at me, eyes blazing red, an expression of deep hatred on his face.

"You little fucker!" he shouts, and lunges at me. I dodge and he flies into a wall, leaving a huge hole. I jump back.

"Are you crazy? What the hell is your deal?" I shout, pissed off. Unless…oh god, please no. He gets up and turns to me.

"Don't play dumb, you sunuvabitch. I overheard Mother and your little girlfriend talking. I know everything. You're a goddamned traitor!" he comes at me, fangs bared, fists raised. I don't react fast enough and he punches me through the wall, into the hallway, and I crash into the wall. _Fuck, he knows! Sakura, what the hell happened?_

"What exactly did you 'overhear', asshole?" I spat, wiping blood from off my chin. As I say it he stands over me and aims a kick at my head. I roll away and swipe my foot out, knocking him from off his feet. He jumps back up and punches me in the stomach. I double over and he knees me in the crotch. I'm normally a better fighter than this, but I'm too worried about what the hell's going to happen to Sakura now.

"You and that bitch are planning to get her execution delayed so you can help her escape. You fucked with a goddamn slayer, you ass!" he yelled, glaring at me. I try to kneecap him but he dodges so I bring my foot up and nail him in the head.

"I didn't fuck her!" I shouted back. _Yet. _"And fuck off, you bastard. She's not what everyone thinks she is!" I pick up a vase and throw it at his head-wow, what a pathetic move. It smashes over his head. He picks up one of the shards and whips it at my head. I turn my head just in time and it wooshes past me, cutting my cheek.

"You're still involved with the enemy! You've betrayed this whole country just by even thinking of helping her. And that you're actually 'in love' with her just puts the cherry on top of it all." He laughs manically. "You're really just a little bag of shit, aren't you baby bro? I'm going to kill you right now, and then go kill your little girlfriend myself." He said. That made me mad.

"Don't you even think about touching her you bastard." I growled. I'm really possessive, and that threat just pushed me over the edge. We're both getting ready to lunge at each other when I hear someone scream "STOP!"

We both freeze and I see Sakura standing with a sword in her hand, and she's pointing it at Itachi. "Don't you touch him!" she said.

Sakura's POV:

If I look brave right now, I sure as hell don't feel it. I'm only standing up to Itachi because it's my stupid fault that he's going at Sasuke at all. Sword still raised, I turn to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I was talking to your mother and I wasn't even paying attention to my surroundings and he snuck up on us without me noticing. I'm sorry." I said. But then I toughened my demeanor. Being the weepy girl that I've been turning into these past few weeks won't do me any good. I internally make myself become the fierce slayer I know I am inside, the one that can and will survive this battle.

"You think that a little girl like yourself can kill the likes of me? You must have gotten knocked in the head to think you can kill me with just a sword. Where are the bow and arrow you're so famous for expertly wielding, hm?" Itachi taunted. I cursed. My bow and arrow are being held somewhere in this god-forsaken castle.

"I don't need those to kill you. This sword has been drenched in holy water. One deep cut and you're dead." I snarled. His face turned from taunting to clouded with anger.

"Stop provoking him, S-Taka." Sasuke said. Fuck, he nearly said Sakura. Itachi, of course doesn't miss his mistake.

"Ahhhh, what was that now? I heard an 'S' in there. What exactly is your true name, huh?" he taunted. I growled. I have had it up to here with Mr. Oh-Look-At-Me-I'm-So-Hot-And-Deadly-And-I-Know-Everything. I get down in my starting position and get ready to cut this son of a bitch to pieces when I hear someone say "Stop this at once!" We all turn our heads to find the source of the noise. Just my luck, it's Sasuke's dad.

Sasuke's POV:

The universe just loves fucking me over from behind, doesn't it? Well, I'm effectively going to die now. "Get out of here, Father. This doesn't concern you." I say.

"Silence, Sasuke." My father says, glaring at me. I roll my eyes. I'm not normally this rude, but I'm so infuriated right now that I don't even care that he could kill me without blinking. "Itachi, what in the hell is going on here?" he said. Fuck.

Itachi grinned. "I'll tell you what, Father. Your youngest son here is a traitor. He's involved with the Bloody Blossom and is plotting her escape. I, however, overheard her talking to Mother, who has been pulled into this scheme, and came to confront Sasuke about it." He said, shooting me an evil look. "And then I intended to destroy the Bloody Blossom myself." He said. I gave him an equally evil look and stood in between him and Sakura, ready to kill the motherfucker if she so much as touches her.

Sakura sighs in exasperation. "Get out of the way, Sasuke. If he wants a fight, he's got one." She whispered to me. "I can take care of myself." And with that, she swept me away with her arm and poised herself to attack. "Come at me, if you're man enough." She spat at Itachi. Itachi looked ready to comply when my father stopped him.

"That is quite enough." Father said. "If you want to fight, Itachi, then that time will come. I have a proposal that I think you and Sasuke will both like."

"What?" I asked.

"You want this girl's freedom so much? Then you can fight for it. The day after tomorrow, you and your brother will have a public duel to decide her fate. If you win, Sasuke, then she is free to go, and you to go with her. If Itachi wins, then she will be immediately executed, and Sasuke will face charges for treason. How about that?" he said. I am speechless. I open my mouth to speak, but Sakura beats me to it.

"You're willing to pit your two sons, who very well may kill each other, against each other in a public fight, in order to decide the fate of one useless girl like myself? That's absolutely ridiculous! You should"-

"I accept." I cut her off. She shoots me a look of absolute surprise.

"What the hell are you doing?" she gasped. I go to her and put my hands on her shoulders.

"I am confident that I can win. I vowed to protect you. I _will _win your freedom." I told her. Her eyes watered. Since when does she cry so much? Oh well, it's kind of cute. I turn to Father. "I accept. Tell me when and where." I said.

"Hold on, I haven't asked Itachi if he accepts. Do you?" he asked, turning to Itachi.

"But of course. I have one request, however. If, or when, Sasuke loses, I wish to be the one to execute the Bloody Blossom." He said, leering at Sakura (not in a perverted way). "How about it, Sasuke?" he asked. I'm ready to say hell no when Sakura breaks in.

"Fuck yes he accepts." She hissed.

"Very well. The day after tomorrow, at dawn, at the Uchiha Madara Memorial." Father said. "You may spend tomorrow preparing. Good luck." He said, and turned and walked away.

This will not be easy. Itachi not only has five years on me, but it bigger and stronger. I'm not as confident as I pretended to be. I look at Sakura and she knows that I can't win. Just like I do.

That's all for this chapter! I hope it was exciting enough :P I know the duel thing is kind of random, but I thought it would provide a nice stepping stone to where I want to go next with this. Until next time, adieu!


	25. Chapter 23

HI SO LET ME START OFF BY SAYING I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK AS LONG AS IT DID. It was a combo of forgetting, AP homework, and not knowing what to write. I'll admit I don't really like what I did in the last chapter with the whole 'duel' thing-looking back, it's kind of random and unrealistic. But I wrote it and have to ride that stupid wave. So enjoy, or try anyways.

Chapter 23:

Sakura's POV:

It's over. The duel is tomorrow. After the fight yesterday, I taken back to my cell and chained up nine ways to Sunday. And in a spur of the moment thing, Sasuke and I signed our own death sentences. I don't know if it was the adrenaline or hatred of Itachi, but agreeing to that duel is the stupidest thing I've ever done. Sasuke couldn't even beat _me _when we fought-it was my own hesitancy that lost me the fight. How is he supposed to beat Itachi for god's sake? Tsunade used to tell me that my hotheadedness would get me into trouble one of these days, and I guess it has. I honestly see no way out of this. I can't get out of these chains, and Itachi's going to destroy Sasuke, and when he does, Sasuke will have to watch me be executed, and then he'll be labeled a traitor; that is, if Itachi didn't kill him already.

_How did I even get myself mixed up in all this shit? Just a couple months ago, I was preparing for my Promotion Exams at the bureau. Now, look at me. In the dungeon of the castle of the Royal Vampire Family, in love with their son, and about to be killed. If someone had told me that I'd end up in this situation one day, I would have said they were absolutely crazy. But maybe I'm not too sane myself, am I?_

For what seems like the millionth time this week, my eyes well up with tears and they spill over my cheeks. I guess it's true what they said-being in love really changes you. I never cried before, ever. Maybe it's a good thing, though. Who knows? At least I can die knowing that I was, once, happy.

Sasuke's POV:

I am the dumbest fucking person in existence. Not only have I jeopardized my own life, I've pretty much opened Death's door for Sakura and said 'after you'. I don't know why the fuck I said I'd fight Itachi, not like I can beat him.

I'm sneaking out tonight; I know that things are not going to go in my favor tomorrow, and I have plans to make sure that Sakura stays alive. I didn't bother preparing for a fight today, I'll never win. I've messaged Neji, Naruto, Kiba, and Shikamaru to all meet me at an underground hideout we built when we were kids. Now it's mostly used so the guys can have some 'alone time' with their girlfriends. But tonight it's going to revisit its old purpose.

I pull my black cloak on and slip out of my window, land on the lawn, and sprint across the garden, hop over the gate, and make my way down the stone path that leads to the withered old tree that stands off to the side on the path. Next to the tree is a large boulder; when we were kids, we discovered that there was a hole leading underground beneath it. So we went down it and built ourselves a hideout. I move the boulder, jump down the hole, and walk down the dimly lit hallway. I get to the door and knock, saying "It's Sasuke. Let me in."

"That's not the secret knock." I hear Kiba sneer. "How do we know it's really you?"

"Kiba, I fucking swear to god, if you don't let me in I'm going to shove Sakura's dagger up your"-

Kiba cuts me off and opens the door, laughing. "That's definitely you." He said. He went and sat down at the small table where Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji were all sitting. They all looked at me with serious expressions, even Naruto.

"What's going on, Sasuke?" asked Neji. I sighed.

"I know you guys have heard about the duel-I'm pretty sure the whole kingdom has. And what's at stake. I need your help. I can't let Sakura die. I wasn't thinking when I agreed to the duel, and I don't want her to die because of my stupidity." I said. I sensed a hint of almost desperation in my voice. I never knew I would be driven to desperation over a girl. But I guess Sakura isn't just a girl.

"What do you want us to do?" asked Naruto. "If we interfere we'll all be killed." Things like this are why Naruto is my best friend. Most of the time he's an obnoxious idiot. But when you need him to be, he's serious and really loyal. That's pretty rare in a person nowadays.

"I know. I don't want you to interfere with the fight. I accepted it; it's my burden to bear. But if-or rather _when_ I lose, because I know I can't win-I need you guys to help me get Sakura out. My father said that she'll be immediately executed, so she'll already need to be gone when the end of the fight comes. And she'll be in public view of everyone when the fight's happening. So it's almost impossible. But I have something of a plan. It's pretty complicated, but I think"-

"Why don't we just slip her a skeleton key, then distract everyone somehow, and she can use that opportunity to escape." said Shikamaru, cutting me off. Wow. That's much simpler than what I was thinking of doing.

"Do you have a skeleton key?" asked Neji (NOTE: for anyone who doesn't know, a skeleton key is a key that can open any lock).

"I do." said Naruto. We all looked at him. "When Hinata and I first started dating, her father would lock all the doors in the house to keep me from seeing her. So I got a skeleton key so I could sneak in to see her." He said, smiling pervertedly.

"I knew you were screwing her behind my uncle's back!" snarled Neji, jumping up. He looked ready to deck Naruto when Shikamaru put a hand on his shoulder. Neji took a deep breath and sat back down.

"Do you have it with you?" I asked. Naruto nodded, reached into his pocket, and handed it to me.

"I always carry it with me. Never know when you're going to need it." He said. Neji growled and Naruto shrank back a bit. "Anyways, so what's this distraction going to be? It's going to need to be big."

"Gentlemen, it's time we revisit our childhood fondness of blowing shit up for no reason." Kiba said, grinning. "We place a small bomb somewhere close to the arena, and when it goes off, everyone will freak out and look over, thinking it's slayers, and Sakura can escape." He said.

The simplicity of the plan will either guarantee its success or failure. Either way, there's a lot at stake. All of our lives, for one. "Look, guys. None of you have to do anything but give me the key. I can't ask all of you to become any more involved. If you're caught, you'll be killed. You all have a lot to lose-I can't risk that." I said. These guys may be idiots, and annoying at times, but they're my best friends.

Naruto shook his head and scoffed "Don't worry about it. We won't get caught. They'll blame the explosion on slayers or something. We'll plant the bomb way before anyone gets there. It'll be fine." He said. The rest of them nodded. "You've helped us with our girlfriends in one way or another. Let us help you." He said, giving me a hard look. I nodded.

"Thank you." I said to all of them. I didn't need to say more. They knew me well enough to know that thank you is big coming from me. "If anything goes wrong, I'll"-

"Nothing will." said Neji. "If your father or brother is expecting some kind of escape plan, it won't be such a simple, somewhat dim-witted one. They won't be able to trace the bomb back to us, because we'll cover our tracks. It will be fine."

I sighed. "Okay. I'll tell Sakura what's going to happen." I said. I turned to leave, but before I walked away, I turned back. "I…I appreciate this more than you guys know. Thank you." I said. They all nodded, hearing all my unspoken words that I couldn't say out loud. I turned and walked down the hallway, back to the castle, to where Sakura was being held.

Sakura's POV:

I've resigned to my fate at this point. I honestly don't have any fight left in me. It's like, I'm sick of fighting and fighting-I just want to be able to let go. And besides, maybe dying won't be so bad. I've done good stuff with my life-I was a slayer, was in love. But I never got to get the guy that killed my parents. I guess that's something I'll have to let go of. And there's something else I never got to do, either. I let a few more tears slide down when I hear the door to the dungeons open. I strain my ear to listen.

"Please be careful, Sasuke-sama, she is incredibly dangerous." I hear a guard say. Sasuke?

"It's okay, Kohei; I'll be fine. If you could stay outside the door, please. In fact, just go get something to eat from the kitchens." Sasuke said.

"…Of course, Sasuke-sama." The guard Kohei said. I heard Sasuke coming down the stairs and the door to my cell opening. I could make out Sasuke's form in the dim lighting. I tried to jump on him but was held down by my bindings. He came over to me and folded me against him.

"Sakura, are you okay?" he said. I nodded. "I'm so sorry about this, I never should have agreed to that duel, it was stupid, and now I've signed your death waver." He said. I shook my head at that and pulled away a bit.

"No, Sasuke. I was just as eager for you to fight." I said. "It's my own fault as well. I've accepted what will happen."

But he shook his head and dropped his voice. "No. Listen, the guys and I came up with a plan." He said. Then he filled me in and slipped me a key. I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"But Sasuke, so much could go wrong, and then you and the guys are all in danger. So much could"-

He cut me off with a kiss. "Nothing will go wrong, okay? You'll have to be careful with undoing your chains; if anyone notices, it's over. But it'll be fine. Listen, I have to go, but I love"-

This time I cut him off with a kiss. I undid my chains while he was talking. He looked at me.

"This is not how we're going to say goodbye. This might be the last chance we have to be alone together, and we're going to make the most of it." I said, giving him a blazing look. This is the other thing I never got to do-you know what I mean. I'm going to spend my possible last night on Earth with the one I love, no matter what.

"Are you sure? I mean, have you ever…" he trailed off.

"No, I never have. But I've never been surer of anything, ever. I love you Sasuke, and I want to spend my possible last night, with you, the one I love. And if this is goodbye for us, then I want it to be a proper goodbye." I said. I leaned over and kissed him deeply, but with something else in it. His arms snaked around me and I buried mine in his hair. We pulled away and our eyes stared into each other's.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too." I replied.

And with that, we began our goodbye.

That's all for this chapter! In case anyone's wondering, this lemon is going no further than being implied as it is. I don't write lemons and don't want to try. Sorry :P But I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Au revoir! I'll try to not make the next one take so long.


	26. AnnoucementApology

Hello…I suppose you might be wondering why I haven't updated in a good month and a half…heh heh ^^' I'm sorry though, I've just been busy with schoolwork and college stuff cause I'm a senior so I have apps and then soccer and work and it's been long -_- BUT I shall finish this story!

This isn't a chapter; it's just an announcement/apology. I will be trying to finish the last couple of chapters in the story very soon. For the chapter I'm currently writing, I'm sorry to say that the fight scene between Sasuke and Itachi won't be written out. I suck at writing fights and honestly I want to get to the end so I can write the epilogue. I know that's really awful of me and I feel bad but I just need to get this updated and it'll take me forever to write a fight. I will be trying my best to finish by tomorrow night and get the next chapter updated.

Once again, I'm sorry for being gone for so long, and I appreciate those of you who stick with my tardy ass 3


	27. Chapter 24

So my plan to get this up last weekend crashed and burned…should I even bother apologizing for how long this took? I do it every time I add a chapter…I am sorry though. And I also apologize for the fact that I'm not writing out the fight scene-besides the fact that I suck at it I just don't have the time. Don't be mad please T.T

Chapter 24

Sasuke's POV:

Today's the day. It's do or die. Literally-there's a 70% chance I'm going to die today. But if I can save Sakura, then it'll be worth it. After last night, I'm more determined than ever to make sure that she gets out of here alive. The plan's ready, everything's in place. Whether it'll work remains to be seen. If things go wrong and Sakura doesn't get her chance to escape, then I'm the only one that's going to fight for her. I'm not going to let the guys throw their lives away.

I'm pulling on my battle gear (which is just black pants) when my door flies open. I don't bother turning around to look who it is, I already know. Naruto is the only one who doesn't knock, and the only one who can get away with not doing so. I feel him jump on my back and hear laughs from behind me. I throw him off me and turn around to face Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba.

"Everything in place?" I asked. Neji nodded.

"If it looks like you're not going to win, or rather when it looks like you're about to die, I'll press a small trigger that'll be in my pocket. The smoke bomb will"-

"Wait, smoke bomb? Since when were we using a smoke bomb?" I asked. "That'll make it obvious that we-or someone-were trying to help her escape."

"Think about it, dude. She won't get away in broad daylight. The smoke will give her enough cover to get away. And besides, they'll all know it was a plot anyway. No dumbass is going to believe that a tree just happened to blow up and a prisoner pretty much on death row just happened to get away. Come on, dude. Give your dad and brother a bit more credit than that." said Kiba.

"Fine, fine. If you guys get caught, don't confess. I'll just take the blame, considering this is my girlfriend we're trying to help here." I said.

"We won't get caught. Think of all the shit we used to pull when we were kids. We never got caught for that, and we won't now." said Naruto. "Now, let's talk about what's _really_ important here." He sniggered. I raised an eyebrow.

"What're you talking about, dumbass?" I asked. They all looked at each other and laughed. "Tell me or I swear"-

Neji cut me off. "Come on now, Sasuke. You know what we're talking about." He said. "You've got the glow."

Oh, Jesus. The glow. Back before all this crazy shit happened, we used to have a thing called 'the glow' that we would use to identify when someone had just gotten laid. When someone gets de-virginized, it's the brightest. When someone sleeps with someone they love, or gets laid after a long time, the glow is almost as bright as the de-virginized one. Since both just happened to me, I must be positively luminous. Leave it to these bastards to notice. "What Sakura and I did is none of any of your business." I said, turning red.

"Fine, fine. I guess we can just use our imaginations." said Kiba, smirking at me. I glared at him. I don't have time for this though.

"Listen, I need to go. This thing's going to start soon and if I'm late my dad's going to think something's up. Listen, I know I've said it before, but"-

Naruto cuts me off. "We know. Hurry and leave." He said. I nodded, turned and ran out of my room. I need to be at the stadium soon. This is it.

Sakura's POV:

Today's the day. This is the day where my life will either end, or begin anew. I guess it's like I'm jumping from a cliff to the other side of the mountain; I can either not make it and fall, or make it and find myself experiencing things I never have before. After last night…well, let's just say that I'm more determined now to make this succeed. I'm still pretty sore though, so it's going to suck having to maneuver quickly (first time or not for me, Sasuke didn't show any gentleness last night [not that I minded at the time]). The door opens and I hear a voice say "It's time to go." I rise and climb the stairs out of the dungeon and have my hands manacled in front of me. Guards stand on either side of me and lead me through the halls of the castle, and finally out the door.

It's my first step outside in a couple of days, and I'm blinded by the intense sunlight. You know, this really is a beautiful place. In the Slayer Academy, we were always taught that the Sharingan Kingdom was a terrible place, full of evil people. But that's not it at all; the village is beautiful, there are mountains in the distance, and I can hear sounds of singing and dancing down in the village. Probably celebrating the fact that I might die today.

We make our way towards an enormous stadium, where I can hear sounds of people chattering and placing bets. My god.

"You'll be brought into view right before the match begins. They want to make a good show out of this." The guard to my right says. I detect a hint of sympathy in his voice, which baffles me. I've probably killed at least one of his family members (that's a safe assumption for nearly every vamp), and here he is feeling sorry for me. What a world.

Sasuke's POV:

I'm walking to the stadium with my mother, neither of us saying a word. Who knows, this could be the last time we ever see each other. Actually, it most likely will be. If things go well, I doubt I shall ever return. But I guess tearful goodbyes aren't really her thing either. We reach the entrance and turn to each other.

"Good luck, Sasuke. I don't know if I'll ever see you again. Whatever may happen, I hope you're happy." She said, smiling.

"So do I, mother. Thanks for everything, I guess." I said awkwardly. She laughed.

"'Thanks for everything'-very nice way to thank your mother for her grueling years of raising you." She said, smiling still. Her eyes teared up a bit and I looked away-I hate seeing women cry (my one issue with Sakura-she's a crier).

"Sorry, mother. You know I'm not good with sentimental goodbyes and all. But you know what I mean." I said. She nodded.

"You should go. Your father and brother will be waiting. But listen, Sasuke." She said, suddenly serious. "I'll be blunt and say that your brother is a better fighter than you. You can't outsmart him or beat him with raw strength. He doesn't make those small mistakes that could give you a potential opening. You need to be careful. I don't know if there's honestly a way to beat him-just be smart, and don't let what he says go to your head. You know he's going to try to taunt you and play with your temper. Don't blow up." She said. I nodded.

"I'll try." I said. She leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead.

"Goodbye, Sasuke." She said, tears finally spilling over her cheeks. She turned and walked away.

No turning back now.

That's all! I am so sorry this took like a bajillion years and I know I said the fight would be in this one but I just really wanted to get a chapter up! I promise on my love for Neji (which is a lot) that the big climax will be in the next chapter! I love you all, adieu!


	28. Chapter 25

HELLO HOES. So I know it's been FOREVER since I've updated but since I've got nothing to do tonight (since I'm a boring ass teenager and I don't party…sigh) I figured I probably should ^.^ This will be the second to last chapter in the series! Gahhh so weird. Again, sorry for not writing out the fighting, but I really really suck at that, so it's better that I don't try. If you don't try you don't fail, right? Whatever. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 25

Sasuke's POV:

It's time. I stand facing my brother, staring into his eyes, ready to kill. This is it. _It. _ This is either the beginning or end of my life. I don't know how this will go. Itachi stares back into my eyes with hatred easily matching mine. We're both ready to rip each other to shreds.

The stadium is packed. Every vampire from the kingdom is here; I think there may even be a few people from outside. I think I saw people from the Rinnegan Kingdom in the fourth row. Everyone's jumpy, ready for us to go at each other. My father clears his throat from his throne at the top of the stadium.

"Welcome, all! As you know, this fight is going to determine whether she"- and at this the guards holding Sakura hold her up into the light for everyone to see- "lives…or dies!" Cheers erupt when he says 'dies'. I can see Sakura trying to hold her composure. Never show weakness in the face of the enemy, I suppose. She's doing it really well, considering the situation. That's my girl. "My eldest son Itachi, and younger son Sasuke, will be fighting to determine her fate. This is a fight to the death." My father continues. "Fighters, ready…" I meet Sakura's eyes for what may be the last time.

"Begin!"

Sakura's POV:

This is bad. And I mean _bad. _ Sasuke is getting his ass kicked. Normally I'd try to use a nicer phrase, but there is no nicer one in this situation.

In the beginning, he held his own pretty well. Itachi is a much more skilled fighter, with years of experience on his little brother; he's also a helluva lot bigger. Sasuke is trying his very best I can see, but he's just not a match for Itachi. At this rate, he'll…_Goddammit Naruto, where's this big distraction?!_ I'm itching to get my hands out of these manacles; I'm sweating like a bitch. And I don't know how much longer Sasuke can last.

I scan the crowd and find Naruto (he's not hard to pick out with his crazy blonde hair) and meet his eyes. I give him a _the fuck are you waiting for? _look. He shakes his head, which I take to mean 'not yet'. I give him my desperate face (that has gotten me out of many tight situations with cute vampires, let me tell you…) and he holds up two fingers, which probably means two minutes. I look down into the arena, where Sasuke has blood running down one eye, and back at Naruto. He gestures for me to calm down. _I sure hope you know what you're doing, Naruto…_

I turn my attention back to the fight. Sasuke's managed to do some damage on Itachi, at least. He has some cuts, a black eye, and a bit of blood in the corner of his mouth. But Sasuke still looks much worse off, and is running out of energy. I rethink my current course of action. I had originally planned to shake off my bindings and get the hell out of here when the moment came. But I can't leave Sasuke here to escape on his own. I don't know if he can now. I have to help him. I have my trusty vial of holy water hidden…well…leave it to your imagination (it sure scared the shit out of Sasuke when he took off my shorts last night, I'll tell you that much). All I need to do is get my hand on a blade and pour the holy water on it. I'll take on of the guards'. I look over to Naruto, who holds three fingers up to me. Then he ticks one down, and then another, and then the last.

As soon as he puts his last finger down, there's a huge explosion from right outside the arena. Everyone turns to look at what's going on, including the King and Itachi. People start moving out of their chairs to see what's happening. Another explosion goes off right next to the other. Smoke fills the arena. People start panicking, and two of my three guards move to see what's going on. I take this opportunity to take the key Sasuke slipped me and use it to undo my manacles. Once they're off, I kick the remaining guard straight in the crotch and take his blade. I sure as hell miss my bow, but this will have to do. I fish out the vial of holy water and dump its contents on the blade, which starts to emit light.

I jump down into the arena to find Sasuke trying to move towards the exit. I run to him and grab onto him.

"S…Sakura? What the hell are you doing? You need to get the fuck out of here!" he hissed at me. "You're supposed to be escaping, remember?"

"I can't leave you here. You're too hurt." I whispered. "Come on, let's use this chance to escape together. I'll help you. And don't you even think"-I said as he opened his mouth- "of telling me to leave you and go. It's not going to happen."

He nodded, defeated, and we began to quietly move to the exit. But, of course, we found our path blocked by a livid Itachi.

"You think you're so goddamn clever, hatching this little escape plan. I'm sorry to say things aren't going to go how you expected." He hissed at us, eyes flaring red. Sasuke tried to move to fight him, but I held him back.

"Absolutely not. You're too hurt." I said, pushing him down. "Let me do this." I get in a fighting position, brandishing my weapon. It's like a spear, but rather than the blade being the shorter part, it's actually the longer part of it (no, it's not a sword-it's shaped differently). Itachi moves towards me and we begin to fight. He's tired from fighting Sasuke, so I'm having an easier time than I would have had. But I still can't land a hit. All I need is a deep scratch, but the bitch is agile as hell. But our fight is cut short by the arrival of, of course, the King, who looks ready to massacre a village. He starts walking towards me, and I try to hold my ground, but his aura is terrifying. Sasuke stands up and tries to push me behind him, but I just grab his hand as we back up.

"You…you…I don't even know how the same blood runs through our veins." He growls at Sasuke. "I never gave you traitor blood, I know that. And now, you've gone and soiled the reputation of the Uchiha name. And there's only one way to cleanse it." He bared his fangs.

"Leave him alone, this is all on account of me!" I said, hoping I sounded braver than I felt.

"Oh don't worry, you'll get yours." He said to me. He opened his mouth wide and I closed my eyes and gripped Sasuke's hand as hard as I could. But I never felt the pain. I opened my eyes to see the Queen standing in between her husband and me.

Sasuke's POV:

Holy shit. I can't process all this right now. Mom is actually directly going against dad and Itachi to save us? Jesus.

"Mikoto, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" roared the King. Itachi came up beside him and glared at his mother.

"Mother, don't do this. You know what'll happen." He said. Mother shook her head.

"What is wrong with the both of you? Why must you put Sasuke, and yourselves, through this? Why must you go through all this trouble and irritation, when it would be so much easier to just let them be? I know that she's the infamous Bloody Blossom and all, but think about it-all the vampires she killed were scumbags. He loves her, and she loves him, and as Sasuke's father and brother, you both should want him to be happy. I'm willing to let it go for him. She's a lovely girl who makes him happy. Are you both able to push your selfish needs aside to just leave them alone?" she said. They look at each other, dumbfounded. Dad shook his head.

"I can't do that, Mikoto. You know what the law says." He said. "If you stand with them, then you're a traitor in your own right. Don't let it come to that."

I racked my brain for an idea. I don't want to have to fight our way out of here, and I don't have the strength to. Sakura could take on my dad and brother, but only one at a time. I told Naruto and the rest of them not to get involved. I can't think of a logical course of action right now. I look desperately to Sakura, who has her eyes shut tightly. That means she's thinking of an idea to get us the hell out of here. Suddenly, her eyes spring open, and they're blazing.

She steps forward with her blade stretched out in front of her. "King Uchiha, we've reached a stalemate in this situation. In order to move on from this, I'm going to tell you a few things that may change your mind about wanting to fight me. I suggest you listen." She said, her eyes narrowing.

"If you think I'm going to listen to a goddamned"-Itachi started, but Dad cut him off and glared at me. I took that as a 'go ahead'.

"Well then." she took in a deep breath. "I killed the ambassador of the Holy Vampire Trinity (A/N: stupid name I know but I couldn't think of anything else) when I was 11. When I was 12 I battled the prince of the Rinnegan Kingdom and manage to wound him badly enough to the point where he agreed to let the seven slayers he had taken hostage go." I see Dad's eyes widen a bit. That had been a huge issue when it happened-the Rinnegan Kingdom had taken seven prestigious slayers hostage and only released them when the king's son had been nearly killed. Figures it was Sakura who did that.

She continues. "…and at 13 I had killed my first dragon. When I was 14"-

"Okay, okay, I get it; you've killed a lot of powerful people! What the hell is your point, girl?" roared Dad. She rolls her eyes.

"My point is that if I'm powerful enough to do all that, I could easily massacre most, if not all, of the vampires here. They're all glued to their seats right now and would be easy prey. Do you really want that to happen? If you let us go, I'll leave you in peace." She said. Props to her, that wasn't a bad idea. Hopefully it works. Dad ponders what she said, then looks back at us.

"To hell with that." He growls. Shit.

Sakura's POV:

Well goddamn, I was sure that would work. I don't have time to mourn my failed plan, however, as the king lunges at me, ready to tear me to pieces. I avoid his attack and try to counter with one of my own. Then I see Itachi coming at me from the corner of my eye. Fucking perfect. I jump up and do some 360-turn and fly back down, pointing my blade straight at Itachi's head. I manage to barely nick him in the shoulder and he curses. But that won't be enough to kill him, but sure as hell it'll slow him down a lot. I smile wickedly and then suddenly my blade is knocked out of my hand and I feel hands wrap around my neck.

I look up to see the King, eyes blazing with fury, glaring down at me as he chokes me. _Shit! I was careless!_ I hear Sasuke shout my name as lights begin to dance in my eyes. _Oh Sasuke, don't watch, please don't…_

But then I hear a voice say "Let her up, Fugaku. Now." The king turns his head to find his wife holding the blade to the back of his neck, glaring down at him. He looks astonished.

"Mikoto…how could"- he stammers.

"I said let her up." She repeated. He removes his hands from my neck and I fall to the floor, gasping. Sasuke rushes over to me and puts his arm around me as I cough. We turn to see the King and Queen facing each other.

"Mikoto, why would you do something like this?" the king asked, with a hint of hurt in his voice. Huh. Guess under the mean exterior of the king of the Sharingan Kingdom is a man who truly loves his wife.

"I do love you Fugaku, but I love our son too. I want to see him happy. And I will do anything to help that." Her expression softened. "Let them go, husband. Let them be happy together somewhere. The girl isn't a slayer anymore. They're in love. Why not just let it go and move on?" she said, smiling sadly.

"But after all she's done, how could you"- Itachi starts. Mikoto turns to her son, eyes narrowing. Itachi pales. Well then.

"After everything she has done, Mikoto, I can't just let her go without punishment." Fugaku says. I decide to speak in my defense.

"In my defense, Uchiha-sama, I killed only vampires who themselves had hurt humans. They were all criminals in their own right." I said. "But I'm done being a slayer. There are plenty more out there, and the humans really don't need me anymore. They never knew I was there in the first place, so it's not like they'll miss me."

Fugaku looked at me and Sasuke, Mikoto, and then back to me and Sasuke. He sighed. "Fine. But you must never, ever return." He said. "No matter what the circumstances."

My jaw drops. He's really letting us go? Sasuke speaks up. "Thank you, Father. Thank you Mother." He says. Mikoto smiles sadly.

"Hurry and leave before the crowd starts realizing what happened. We will tell the Kingdom that you escaped, but pose no threat." She said. She looked back at us. "Go, and quickly."

I bow as deep as possible. "Thank you, Mikoto-san, and Fugaku-sama." I say. Fugaku grunts and Itachi scoffs. Sasuke looks at both his parents.

"Goodbye." He says. We turn and leave, running as fast as we can (Sasuke's still a bit hurt, so it's hard for him to move quickly.). Once we are a good distance away from the kingdom, we stop and look back.

"I can't believe that all just happened." Sasuke said. "So weird that my father would actually let us go."

I start to tear up for the millionth time. "All this on account of me. Your parents are probably going to have issues now, and your brother will be murderous, you can never go home again, and it's all my fault." I said. _How could an insignificant girl like me cause so much damage?_

Sasuke grabbed my face and stared into my eyes. "Don't ever say that, ever. I love you and that's all that matters. My mother isn't angry. My father will get over it. And Itachi…well he'll just do whatever it is he does. I can still see my friends, they can come visit or something." He said. He leaned in and kissed me. "Okay?" I nodded.

We turn and face what's ahead. Miles of rolling hills and trees lie out before us. I reach for Sasuke's hand and hold it tight, and he returns the pressure. He looks at me. "Are you ready?" he asks. I look at him.

"Ready."

Alright, that's all! I know how that all turned out kinda sucked, but I was so stuck and this was all I could think of. Hoped you managed to enjoy it anyways. Next chapter is the epilogue! Woot! Love you hoes ^^ 3


	29. Epilogue

HERE IT IS…THE GRAND FINALE. This is the final chapter of the story and I hope all readers have enjoyed the story! I know it got kinda weird in the middle and then totally fucked towards the end but I tried T.T but here's the last chapter and I really hope you enjoy it :D AND MERRY CHRISTMAS BITCHES! Or for those who don't celebrate it, Happy Hanukah!

Epilogue

Sakura's POV:

I used to be a firm believer in fate and destiny. I believed that the universe had set plans for all of us that we couldn't change, and all we could do was accept it (channeling a bit of Neji here, I know). I was positive my destiny was to become a Gold Ranked Slayer and dedicate my life to killing vampires. I wouldn't have time for love or happiness, and I was ready to accept that.

But then my stupid ass fell in love with a vampire and well…I started to realize that maybe the universe doesn't have it all perfectly mapped out like I thought it did. Maybe we could be in charge of our own fates and make our own choices. Maybe life really was ours to control.

Looking back on everything, I guess that I'm not too disappointed things turned out this way. It's not like I wasn't happy before, but I wasn't living. I had the same routine every day, and I was stuck in it for years. I can't complain-I had asked for it. More like begged, actually. But it was so empty. I had fun every now and then, going out for drinks and to clubs; it's not like it was all work and no play. But there was a huge hole in my life that I figured would be filled once I got my Gold Rank. Now I know how wrong I was.

As I stand on the porch of my small home in the mountains, looking at the sun slowly slipping behind the mountains in the distance, I realize that this is what I was looking for. I feel a tug on the hem of my dress and look down to see my two-year old daughter staring up at me. I smile and bend down to pick her up. She looks at me and gives me a smile, and I can already see little fangs beginning to grow in.

After Sasuke and I ran from the Sharingan Kingdom, we settled in the mountains. No humans ever come here, there was plenty of food and water, and it was quiet. Sasuke changed me about two weeks later, and it hurt like hell. Not the change itself, but when he actually bit into me. That shit fucking hurt and I broke his wrist because of the pain. But I have to say, it's certainly been much cooler not being human. Humans are so limited with what they can do but vampires-vampires can do almost anything. The fact that I was able to kill so many now baffles me. The ones I killed must all have been a bunch of dumbshits because humans have so little compared to them. My senses are 20x stronger than before and I'm much stronger and faster. Plus I age so slowly, it's so fantastic. I won't have to worry about wrinkles for another hundred and fifty years at the earliest.

We got married about… I want to say seven years ago. We had our first son, Hiroki, two years after. He's five years old, and chases his poor sister around and makes her cry. I'm sad to say he inherited my hair. Our daughter Shiori is two and has the biggest eyes you've ever seen. It creeps the hell out of Sasuke. And in about six months or so, we'll have another little baby to take care of. I swear it's going to be a boy, because it kicks me just as hard as Hiroki did. Hopefully he won't get my hair like his unfortunate older brother.

Shiori begins to squirm in my arms so I take her inside, where Sasuke is telling Hiroki stories from when he was younger and used to get in all sorts of trouble. I walk over to Sasuke and smack him lightly on the head. Shiori follows suit, waving her chubby arm in the air.

"Don't be giving him any ideas, or we'll have another Naruto on our hands." I tell him. Sasuke scoffs.

"Please, there'll never be another Naruto."

"Uncle Naruto?" pipes Hiroki. "When is he coming to visit again? I want to see Hitomi!" Hitomi is Naruto and Hinata's daughter, and she's one year younger than Hiroki. He has the biggest crush on her, it's so adorable.

Our friends visit us every now and then; we sent them letters with our location, and they can come visit whenever they want to. We can never return to the Sharingan Kingdom of course, but we honestly don't want to. I don't want my kids growing up hating humans. Plus, being out here is so much nicer than being locked up in that damned village. I saw the people there when I first went there with Sasuke all those years ago-they looked miserable.

"He's not coming again for a while; I still haven't fully repaired the hole in the floor yet." grumbled Sasuke. I laughed.

"But Ino and Kiba are thinking of coming soon. Ino said she's really starting to show since she's about four months now. I feel her pain." I said, reaching down and feeling my own bulging stomach. I'm thankfully past the point where you can't tell if I'm pregnant or fat, but it still sucks. But it'll be worth it.

"I feel bad for Uncle Kiba." said Hiroki. "If Auntie Ino is anything like Mom was when Shiori was growing in her, then she must drive him nuts." My five-year-old is already as sassy as his father. Good lord.

"And on that somewhat insulting note, it's your bedtime." I said to him. He groaned but I shook my head. "Get your butt in bed and your father and I will be in in a few minutes." He grumbled and walked towards his bedroom, dragging his feet.

"Speaking of beds…" Sasuke walked towards me and tried to kiss me, but I pushed him away.

"Don't even think about it. Knowing you, you'll bang a hole in our baby." I said. "I've got three more months. Can't you wait that long?" I asked, knowing full well the answer.

"Well, we can do lots of stuff from the chest up." He said, smirking. I felt heat rush into my face. Even after all these years I get so embarrassed. I'm truly a little kid. Shiori starts making impatient sounds in my arms, so I sigh and brush past Sasuke. "I don't understand how you can possibly find me attractive at all when my stomach is so large."

"It's because I know what's in it that's making it so big." He said. I gave him a weird look. _Not exactly a great answer, but I'll take it. _

"Well I've got to get Shiori to bed. You go say goodnight to Hiroki and then we can negotiate." I said. I walked into Shiori's room and laid her down on her little bed. I tucked her in and kissed her goodnight.

"Goodnight, my angel." I said softly. I blew out the candles (aren't we so rustic) and softly closed the door. The minute it clicked shut I felt Sasuke hug me from behind. Oh, god.

Sasuke's POV:

I'm lying in bed next to Sakura after we ah, fooled around a bit. I'm getting ready to go to sleep when I hear her speak.

"Did you ever think things would turn out like they did?" she whispered. "That you would end up married to your once mortal enemy and have a son with pink hair?"

I thought about that one for a second. I always knew I would never marry some run-of-the-mill girl and then spend the rest of my life doing politics shit with my brother-over my dead body-but I didn't think things would get _this _weird.

"Yes and no. I knew my life would be different, but not like this." I replied. I felt more than saw her smile and then bury her face in my shoulder and close her eyes.

I have to admit, I'm really glad things turned out like they did. Sure I can't return to the kingdom and see my Mom anymore, but I felt so trapped there. I couldn't do anything, and my life was so pathetic. Party here, break something there, hook up with some girls here and there, blah. My life with Sakura is one that I know I will never get tired of. We have our moments, sure. All couples do. But it doesn't mean that things are any less good. I know we can't stay in this house forever. Eventually the humans will come rolling through with their imperialism and we'll have to relocate and things won't be as simple. But I won't mind at all. I mean, I've got a beautiful wife, a son and daughter, and another kid coming. I'm actually legitimately happy. What can I really complain about?

I hear Shiori begin to cry in the next room. Damn. I push Sakura back into the mattress, as she had started to get up to go get her. "I've got it." I tell her. She nods and closes her eyes again.

I get up and quietly walk to Shiori's room, where she's standing up in her crib, hair a complete mess, staring up at me with her enormous, tear-filled eyes (they scared the shit out of me when she was first born). She reaches her chubby arms up, and I pick her up and hold her against me. She starts to fuss again, so I take her outside to see the stars. That's the one thing that can always calm her down.

We look out over the mountains and trees, up to the full moon that's shining in the sky. There are millions of stars, and Shiori loves pointing at them and trying to grab one. Once she sees them, she immediately calms down and begins to smile and laugh. I look at her bright, happy face and can't help but smile myself.

Sure, my life isn't one grand adventure. I don't go on dangerous journeys and get into a shit ton of trouble with my friends anymore. But standing here with my little daughter staring up at a beautiful night sky, I really can't complain.

I've finally found true happiness.

Ok, that's the end of the story! Sorry if the ending is abrupt, I just got done with finals and my brain is dead.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO STAYED WITH THE STORY EVEN WHEN I TOOK EONS TO UPDATE AND THE UPDATES WERE SHIT I APPRECIATE AND LOVE ALL OF YOU.

Info about my next story coming soon!


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